Pieces Of Us
by Unity-In-Silence
Summary: Is Izuku blessed or cursed with what he is born with? A chance encounter at threes years old, the faith of many pushing him forward. How can one be a hero, when all they see and touch turns grey? Setsuna Tokage X Izuku Midoriya (Slight AU) (Nicer Bakugo) (REWRITE IN PROGRESS FROM CH. 8 ONWARD)
1. Chapter 1

_This is going to be a long, and slow Setsuna Tokage X Izuku Midoriya story. The beginning is merely an intro and premise of what I hope to achieve in slight world building. I feel there is not enough of these two paired together, though I have thoroughly enjoyed all the fanfics written on these two that are available; so much so I am going to try my hand at this pairing. Enjoy. _

Start Of A New Day

Today was a special day. Ordinarily Izuku Midoriya would spend his days reading up on the latest hero news, or better yet watching the latest hero debut that was all the buzz. At the ripe age of three, he was just like any other kid his age; fantasizing over their soon to be quirk that would surely surface as they reached the prime age of four. It was a dream all kids of japan, better yet, all the world looked forward too as they reached that magical number. However, in the world of today, being quirkless was seen as something of an oddity, and those who had such a thing befall upon them were usually met with scrutiny, pity, and even treated as a rare form of subhuman that should not exist in this world. Which no matter how cruel it sounded, was not so far from the truth.

Though rare for such a condition to fall on an individual, it was not as uncommon as one would think, or in this case what Izuku had been told all his life. Heck he had a quirkless aunt all the way in the Saitama prefecture; whom at the moment Izuku and his mother Inko Midoriya were making the hour long trip to visit. Izuku always found the car ride over mesmerizing, not for the scenery of open country, or the ever ending sun shining above the mountains. If anything in such a heavily populated city filled with many buildings, businesses, and homes; one would wonder what had Izuku so entranced with such a dense populated area. No simply put it was the fact on car rides Izuku was able to see the various people living their everyday lives, especially those with mutant type quirks! He was a kid filled with such wonder as he saw so many unique individuals with various "formities" so to speak. Even the prospect of seeing a hero on one of their patrols would send him into a frenzy.

His young eyes always shown with wonder as he witnessed such unique aspects of those with mutant quirks. Earlier, they passed a family who had cat ears, as well as tails! How can a kid not be fascinated by such a thing? Izuku was a special kid that was for sure, he loved everything there was about quirks, he loved all what quirks could do and accomplish for the world. See even at such a young age Izuku would find his mind always lost in a sea of questions and wonder. So much so that Inko, the worrywort she was, wondered if it had to do with a form of 'disability', though of course that was ruled out by the doctors as they simply said, "He's a bright kid with an even brighter mind". Of course Izuku never questioned what the doctor visits could of been about, he was just trying his best to figure out what the quirks of the staff were. Although, he always did wonder why they whispered about to his mother in such hushed tones around him in the clinics. Again Izuku was lost in his mind again, he was only brought out of his daze when he felt a gentle shake from his mother on his left shoulder.

Izuku in a panic jumped and looked to the source only to see his mother outside the car, with his side of the door open, giving him such a loving and kind smile. Tilting his head slightly Izuku's little mind went into overdrive to try and piece together how his mother was standing outside the vehicle when she was just driving. Realization soon dawned upon him when he looked forward to see they were parked in the driveway of a house, his aunt's house. Blushing slightly and shaking with excitement, Izuku began to move in haste to unbutton his seatbelt as he heard his mother give off a small sigh with a chuckle following soon after.

"Ohhhh Izuku, whatever am I going to do with you?" She questioned in jest, yet with all the love a boy like him deserved.

Izuku simply blushed harder at her response in embarrassment. He reached over with his little arms to his mom so she could help him get out of the vehicle, after all he was only three years old. Soon Izuku felt himself being lifted and set gently on the ground right by the car door.

Smiling up to his mother, Izuku in a meek voice said, "T-Thanks mom." Which in turn earned him a slight ruffle of his already messy green hair. Izuku giggled at the contact and looked back up to his mother again only to see that always everloving smile that only she could give him.

"Now now Izuku, we've talked about this." Inko said in a semi-scolding manner. "Though I understand you have so many questions in that small but big brain of yours, try and be aware of where you are at least okay?"With that Inko gave a small chuckle and picked her baby boy up as she closed the car back passenger door behind her.

Izuku laughed all the same as he was lifted into the air again, into the loving and warm arms of his mother. Cuddling up to her tighter, Izuku truly felt at peace and felt safe in her arms. Izuku adored his mother, words could not even describe how much he truly loved his mom with all his heart. Though he never knew where he metaphorically 'came from', from what his mother and his father told him a bird called a stork delivered him as a baby right at their doorstep. That's right! Izuku's father was overseas working to ensure that Inko and his beautiful baby boy could live comfortably in Japan. Though Izuku only saw his father on the holidays, the late night calls once every week was always the highlight in little Izuku's mind. He loved his father just as much, and even though the absence would make him sad on certain days, he was still a three year old kid who knew his father was doing his absolute best to ensure they lived comfortably. Izuku admired his father as a hero in his own right.

The walk to his aunt's door was uneventful as it obviously would be, just being a few feet from the driveway itself. Izuku of course started shaking in excitement as his mother neared the door to alert the resident inside they had arrived. But before his mother could knock on said door, it opened abruptly in a flash, and standing in the doorway was a rather similar looking older woman to his mother. She was of average build, with a slight pudgeness to her cheeks. Standing at a mere height of 5'4, she was slightly taller than his own mother. She had such a striking resemblance to his own mother that they would tell him stories that when he was an infant, he would confuse the two almost all the time! Crying to his aunt thinking she was the one who would "feed him". Though Izuku did not understand the implication one bit, his mother and aunt sure loved to reminisce about said memories; always bringing a smile to their faces, smiles that little Izuku loved seeing upon their features that was for sure.

Again, Izuku was pulled from his thoughts when he felt a new pair of hands grab him tenderly, yet with a goal in mind. That goal was to have him smothered against said aunts cheeks followed up by the sweet coos and kisses from his aunt. He broke out in a giggle fit as he struggled in her strong grasp, he was not trying to escape that was for sure, he loved the attention he was receiving one hundred percent!

"AHHHH! Izuku you've gotten so big!" She gushed out. "I could just eat you up come here!" With this declaration she began nibbling all over little Izuku's face and hair, earning her squeals and laughter from her little nephew.

"PL-PLEASE AUNTY AIKO!" Izuku shrilled. Though his 'complaints' fell on deaf ears as Aiko continued her onslaught, and Inko looked on with a smile and chuckled all the same.

"Good to see you oneechan." Inko said while shaking her head slightly. Inko loved her older sister, though she was older by a measly two years, she sure knew how to get under her skin about it. Judging by the flash she saw briefly in Aiko's eyes during her metaphorical coddling session with her baby boy, she groaned with what was sure to come out of her mouth. And Aiko sure did not disappoint as always.

Aiko stopped her attack and looked to her younger sister with a growing mischievous smile. "Ah ah ah! It's O-NEE-SA-MA, now say it with me Inko! O-NEE-SA-MA!" Aiko stated in a matter of fact tone. This of course earned her an eye roll from her younger sister, but Aiko set Izuku on the ground and joined her sister in a strong hug.

"Good to see you too imouto-chan." Aiko said. Though the way she said it heavily implied how funny she found addressing her younger sister as such. Though with all the love and respect all the same, she was happy to see her younger sister of course.

Upon breaking their hug apart, Aiko reached down picking up Izuku into her arms. Izuku found immediate comfort in her grasp that he could not help but feel himself lulling off to sleep. Soon the background drone of his mother and aunt talking sounded so far away as he felt the world around him turning dark The two women noticed this and smiled as they went to continue their conversation in the living room. Izuku was laid on a different extension on the couch, one that easily fit his small form as he found himself lost in a world of pillows and warmth. Turning their sight away from the obvious cute bundle that was Izuku, the two women began catching up as they always did on their visits. Aiko lived alone the majority of her life; being quirkless and all she was rather used to life that usually followed being born as such. It did not mean she did not have friends however, quite the opposite actually!

Being the head costume designer and fashionista of midnights hero agency obviously played a huge part in this. She was the sole individual who played a major part in helping Nemuri change her costume when the public felt it was too indecent for 'their' standards. Aiko understood though, maybe the straps acting as pasties was not such a good idea? Though it seemed unreal to think someone who was quirkless had such a high position in a hero's life, her and Nemuri were very close friends; so much so Nemuri usually confided with Aiko when it came to certain topics. A friendship that had been built upon in the last few years, which was interesting to think since Midnight had just barely made her debut such a short while ago or so Aiko thought. Come to think of it, it was rare to see such a young hero at the age of eighteen already have an agency, and was already climbing the ranks at a rapid pace. Maybe her looks and overall quirk had something to do with it? Whatever the case Aiko was grateful to have such a young friend even though Aiko herself was up there in her age.

Aiko however found it rather hard to land herself a stable man that was for sure. She knew she was getting up in her age, though not much by any means, she felt pressured from the fact that her younger sister found herself a man, and not to mention little Izuku was already three years old! Leave it to her younger sister to make her feel old; though try and try Aiko did, it seemed almost impossible to find a man who was not in it for just the chance to have a swing at Nemuri. Nemuri fortunately found the attention behind closed doors a huge annoyance, but in public she tried her best to keep up the image that it did not bother her in the slightest.

Aiko and Inko's conversations of catching up always seemed to follow this manner. Inko would tease her about her man troubles, while Aiko would hit back with Inko's own problems that arise with having her husband overseas. The main thing revolving around how she can keep herself sane with her man not being home to 'sate' her needs, though Aiko was not one to talk for she rarely if not ever had that attention to begin with. Though both sisters loved each others company, and thoroughly enjoyed their conversations they always had no matter how silly or dull, they always found happiness and comfort in each others presence. As such they both had a tendency to talk each others ear off for hours on end, so much so that that did not notice Izuku awaken from his two hour long nap.

Izuku had awoken with a slight feeling of grogginess, but he felt himself at ease laying their enjoying the voices of his aunt and mother intermingling with each other. They always had such a sweetness that Izuku felt he could be content hearing the buzz of their voices for hours. Of course since he was an energetic kid, he felt himself in need of slight adventure. So quietly he got up from his makeshift bed, and made his way to his aunts back porch door way. Izuku always liked looking out the double glass sliding doors. Namely for the fact just a short minute away was one of his favorite parks. Turning back slightly he found both the women were still lost in each others' conversations, and aunty Aiko seemed to be on a rather funny part of her story as his mother was almost keeling over in laughter.

Izuku looked out into the open world before him, and being a child with poor decision skills felt his mother would not mind if he were to go to said park alone and ride the swings! They looked so exciting and from what his little eyes could make out, their were other parents with their kids enjoying the park together as well. So instead of asking his mother and aunt to go to the park with him he took it upon himself to head out on his own, an adventure just for him! So with stealth such a young like him should not have, and skill that his best friend Kacchan would be proud of, he delicately slid the door open and closed it all the while holding his breath. Judging by the sounds of their continued conversation, Izuku figured he was in the clear and began his trek to the park. In Japan's society today, kidnappings of young children was almost non-existent due to the hero society they all now live in. It was a rare sight one ever saw on the news that a young child was abducted, or worse, something morbid befell a child with how vigilant heroes were in today's world, especially with All Might at the forefront of it all. So the few short feet towards the park was rather easy for Izuku and his little legs; he could not help the huge smile that graced his features. Approaching the park, Izuku could her the small shrills of various children like him playing and running around the park.

Fastening his pace, Izuku made a beeline for the swings only to be approached with a problem. He was too small to get himself up on the swing without the help of an adult, and he was too frail to have the strength that would aid him in pulling himself up there alone. So while scratching his at the new predicament he was in, Izuku briefly heard what sounded like sniffling by a nearby secluded tree from the rest. "**That's odd, why is that tree crying?" **Izuku innocently pondered to himself. Such a curious noise; Izuku felt himself approaching the tree at a subtle pace. Upon reaching the front of this everyday tree, he inquired allowed albeit nervously, "Is a-anyone t-there?" A small but feminine squeal alerted him that his question was somewhat answered or at least heard.

Slowly, Izuku circled around the tree, his hand grazing the sides of the rough bark. Once he faced the other side, he noticed a small girl with a scraped knee. She was his age that much he was sure of, and by the tears in her eyes and slight fear as she looked up to him she was in pain. Standing tall Izuku to the best of his ability tried to act like the heroes he had seen on TV. With a stutter Izuku proclaimed, "H-Have no f-fear, I am h-here." He struck a childish pose hoping to seem like a true hero to this unknown girl before him. She owlishly blinked up at the weird boy, with tears still coming down her eyes. Noticing the tense and quiet atmosphere Izuku began to sweat.

"Hey, are y-you alright?" Izuku asked gently

The unknown girl's eyes widened at the question, then the tears broke out anew. "I f-fell trying t-to climb th-this tree…" She choked out.

Izuku jumped into action and tried to assess the injury. Crouching to her position, he noticed a very red and mared scrape that would surely scar over. As Izuku noticed the slight blood seeping from the wound he began to panic as his little mind tried to figure out how to help this girl. Izuku immediately looked around, hoping to see a frantic parent looking about for their child that would surely be looking about for her in a panic. Instead he noticed his aunty Aiko and mother frantically looking about for most likely him. Looking to the girl again, Izuku nervously stuttered out, "I'll be r-right back!" and then turned around and ran towards the direction of his mother. The girls tears returned tenfold at the thought of being left alone, and she slowly tried standing up to no avail.

To say Inko was upset when she saw her son running towards her would be vastly untrue, if anything she felt immense relief wash over her as she saw Izuku running towards her in a panic. She met him halfway and proceeded to scoop him up in her grasp. No one ever told her she was not emotional as she felt tears escaping from her eyes. Holding him strongly Inko felt a sense of calm as she finally had her baby boy in her arms again, even though it had only been roughly five minutes since they noticed his abrupt disappearance.

"Izuku! What were you possibly thinking on running off on your own?!" She scolded. She felt Izuku shake in her grasp, out of fear or something else, she did not know.

"You found him!" Aiko exclaimed as she approached, relief washing over her features as well. "Izuku, you had us worried sick! What were thinking going outside alone?" Though her words were just as harsh to the three year old, he felt guilt overwhelming him as he should of known they would of been worried. Before Izuku felt his own tears ready to flood out, he remembered why exactly he even ran towards them in the first place.

"Mo-Mom!" He finally said. "Come quick! There is a little g-girl who hurt her k-knee by that t-tree!" He pointed towards the tree in a rush and tried making a break from her arms.

"Whoa now! Izuku calm down. What do you mean?" Inko inquired. Though that question went unanswered as she felt her son shake out of her grasp and make a break for the tree in question.

"Ju-Just hurry follow m-me!" He stuttered out. Somewhere in his small three year old mind, he knew running from his mom, when he knew he was in trouble, was probably not the best idea in the long run; but he felt the urge to help this mysterious injured girl.

"I-Izuku!" His mother shouted in alarm, her and Aiko then proceeded to rush after the crazy boy, Inko in a panic, while Aiko followed along in wonder at what the boy said earlier. **"I wonder what he was talking about?" **She thought to herself. **"Well hopefully Inko doesn't think he just off and ran away."** She chuckled slightly to herself. That boy was always worrying her sister that was for sure, from the conversation from earlier he was still the same adventurous boy who would always run amuk with his child-hood friend Bakugo, or as he affectionately called him Kacchan. Always playing their silly 'hero agency game' or 'villian capture' whenever the two children were together; Bakugo would be the hero and Izuku the sidekick from what Inko always told her, but as of late Izuku had been challenging Bakugo for the position. **"Good for him." **She humored to herself.

Getting back to the chase at hand, Izuku rounded the tree and the two women heard him hurriedly talking to whoever was the mysterious person was.

"Don't worry, my m-mom and aunty are h-here!" He nervously stuttered out. As they rounded the tree themselves, they noticed a little girl leaning against the tree in tears, and was holding her left knee.. Quickly the two entered what one would call 'mom mode', and went on their knees to make sure the girl was alright.

"Oh sweetie, are you alright?" Inko cooed slightly

"Are your parents around?" Aiko followed with being the more rational of the two.

The girl cowered in fear at the two new adults that had come out of nowhere. One second the boy had returned, and the next thing she knew two women were in her face trying to find if there was any other damage to the girl. In a panic the girl starting cowering away from the two, and looked to the both of them in wide fearful eyes.

Inko and Aiko noticed this and slowly realized what they were doing. They backed up a bit and Inko reached a hand over gently in a calming manner. "Its okay sweetie...we are here to help you don't worry." Inko said calmly, like she was talking to an injured animal, yet obviously this was a child. It did work however as the girl looked to them with shaky eyes, but she made a reach for her hand with hesitation.

Aiko slowly stood up and tried looking around for the little girls parents, hoping to find someone who looked like they were frantically searching for something. This seemed to work as she noticed a couple looking about in a panic, searching behind other trees nearby, as well as peaking through the playground equipment looking what she could only assume to be their child. Aiko turned towards Inko and said, "Hey sis, I see a couple over their looking for something." Then she looked to the little girl who had now at this point taken Inko's hand. "Or someone." With this Aiko approached the couple who seemed to be stuttering to each other and sweating profusely as they continued their search.

"*Ahem* Uhhh excuse me?"

Following the sound of an unknown voice the couple looked over to see a rather short woman with green hair looking at them curiously. Before they could wonder what this woman wanted from the two of them, behind said woman they noticed a little boy trailing besides another slightly similar looking woman. What made the two gasp however was when they saw their daughter being carried in the woman's arms. Quickly, the couple, obviously her parents, ran right past Aiko ignoring whatever she had to say. They approached the three relief washing over them as they neared, however that ended when they heard their daughter sobbing slightly as he held her left leg up at a weird angle.

"Setsuna!" The mysterious woman shouted out as they neared. Upon hearing her name called the little girl looked over to see her parents approaching.

"M-Momma! P-Papa!" She chokingly gasped. This followed up with her outstretching her arms towards the two.

"**So these are her parents, well that just makes everything easier."** Inko let out a sigh of relief. Izuku on the other hand looked up curiously at what was happening before him watching these new turn of events play out.

Gently and with care, Inko relieved the girl from her arms to the mother. Who immediately began kissing her as the father looked her over for any injuries. It was at this point the father noticed a rather crude looking scrape against her small knee that broke his heart.

"Setsuna, what happened?" He said gently, yet in a panic. "Your knee! Are you still bleeding?" With trepidation, the man began gently patting around her knee with his shirt hoping to quell some of the blood.

The little girl winced at the contact of her wound, but she began to explain the best a three year could. "I was c-climbing that t-tree over there, I saw a c-cool looking l-lizard and thought I c-could grab i-it…" She trailed off. Both the parents sighed and firmly but gently began scolding the girl.

"Setsuna your mother and I have talked about this." He shook his head slightly, all the while patting her head gently.

"See Setsuna you need to be more careful okay? If it wasn't for these nice people who knows when we would have found you!" Her mother continued. Speaking of said people, the couple looked over to two women and child, smiling towards them.

"Thank you so much for finding her." Said the father with his smile never fading.

Inko gave a nervous chuckle and pointed down towards her son who at this point was lost in his thoughts that was for sure. Giving him a slight nudge, he awoke from his daze to see the family of three staring at him, which made him feel nervous.

"Actually my son was the one who found her, he came and alerted us about it." Inko said with a chuckle. Aiko gave a hearty laugh at the, noticing the discomfort in his demeanor at the praise.

The couple smiled even brighter, showing off a peculiar set of sharp canines that did not go unnoticed by the three. The woman was the first to speak, "Oh her little hero!" She cooed aloud. The dad following along with a hearty laugh of his own.

Izuku blushed at the idea, but felt his chest swelling with pride. He really did help someone today, or so his little mind told him. He was a hero; and Izuku liked the feeling he was feeling in his small chest.

"Now Setsuna what do you say to your little hero ehhh?" The father teased. Setsuna blushed and looked away from the boy. With some words of encouragement from her mother she turned towards the three, namely staring straight at Izuku.

"T-Thanks for saving m-me." She meekly put out.

Izuku blushed hard at the praise and stood tall with pride. "O-Of Course! I-It's what h-heroes do!" Though he stuttered it out, Setsuna had stars in her eyes. She wondered herself if she would ever get to be a hero like he was?

"Oh I'm so sorry where are our manners! What are your names?" The mother inquired.

Aiko took the initiative, saying, "Oh no worries. I am Aiko Midoriya, this is my sister Inko Midoriya." She paused and picked up Izuku into her arms. "And this little cinnamon roll of love is her son, or better yet my nephew Izuku Midoriya." She added while squishing their cheeks together.

The parents gave a slight bow towards the three and continued along with their own introductions.

"Thank you three again from the bottom of our hearts!" Said the mother. "I am Asako Tokage, and this is my lovely husband Fujio Tokage." Asako then turned her attention to the little girl in her arms. "And as you probably figured out this is our daughter Setsuna Tokage."

The two women bowed back in turn in greetings as well. The four adults exchanged minor pleasantries as Izuku stared up at Setsuna, and Setsuna was doing the same surprisingly. It was just then that Izuku started taking notice of some of her features, her hair was just as green as his, her eyes though held a pool of black that his little mind felt mesmerized by. Her bottom eyelashes protruded a bit more out, adding a small flare to the bottom of her eyes. What really caught him in awe was how when she offered back a shy smile herself, he noticed her teeth were just as sharp as her parents. Izuku himself offered a smile in return as he felt his cheeks heat up at the smile, something about those teeth seemed to drag him in curiosity.

She too was examining him, noticing his hair was green like hers, and he had a set of four freckles on each cheek. Though what she found truly interesting were his vibrant green eyes that stared back at her just as tensely. She felt herself smiling at the boy, only to get one in return; which she noticed how his teeth were not sharp like hers, how peculiar.

Both were broken out of their stupors when she felt her mother turn around along with her father, as they started walking in the opposite direction. Izuku too noticed this and looked up to his mother who was giving him a smile and a shake of her head.

"Oh Izuku what am I going to do with you? Please don't run off like that again okay sweetie?" She said while picking him up.

"Sorry mom.." He said guilty, looking down. While his mother chuckled and they too turned away from the retreating family, Izuku could not help but look over to them. He noticed Setsuna was doing the same thing and their eyes met for a second time. Izuku gave her a gentle smile, and waved his small little hand in farewell. Setsuna give a toothy grin back in return, and waved back slowly as well.

"Ohhhh Zuku~." Aiko cooed again, with a hint of teasing in her voice. "I saw the way you two cuties looked at each other! Oh dear sister, Inko how they grow so fast!" Aiko said whilst putting the top of her hand to her head.

Izuku did not know the implications on what his aunty was insinuating, for he was too young to understand the concept of love, or in this case even a crush for that matter. However, he could not help but think about Setsuna, and how he felt their time together was cut very short. He wondered to himself, **"I wonder if we will meet again?"**.

_I hope those who read this enjoyed, and from this point on the story will pick up slightly, though it is not going to go as you would normally think in a romance story that is for sure. I plan to keep it slow and let the flames simmer and burn for a long while. Thanks for reading the first chapter, and I hope you enjoyed. Have a wonderful day._


	2. Chapter 2

_I would like to give immense thanks to those who informed me I mixed up on SETSUNA'S first name. All that I research proved to be wrong, but I am grateful to those who PM'd me to let me know. Enjoy as always._

Medusa's Embrace

_A Few months later_

Izuku was an excited little boy. Today was a special day for one reason and one reason only. It is his fourth birthday! Little Izuku could barely contain himself as he arose from bed this morning. At the literal crack of dawn, Izuku made a beeline for his bedroom door, and rushed into his mom's room that was just down the hallway. Bursting through the door, Izuku barely gave his mother a second to breathe at the sudden loud intrusion in her room. With a gasp and resounding *oof* from his mother, Izuku had jumped right into her bed jumping up and down in excitement.

"MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM!" Izuku squealed out.

Inko had trouble getting a grasp on what exactly had Izuku so excited. **"Oh how I love Izuku...but it is waaayyyyyy to early for any of this"**. She chanced a glance over to the digital clock she had on her nightstand. **"Six in the morning huh? Well whoever said a start of a productive day on her son's birthday was a bad idea?" **Suddenly, the realization hit her like a ton of bricks, and she sat up in excitement and joined Izuku in his jumping.

Quickly, she grabbed Izuku mid jump, and hugged him with all her might. "Izuku! It's your birthday! Oh my big boy is going to get his quirk!" Inko finally recovering from her daze, exclaimed in the same energy her son was showing previously.

Izuku on the other hand found himself in a new dire problem; he felt all the air leaving his little body as his mother smothered him with one of her infamous strong hugs, something he found himself falling victim to all the time. Before he felt the cold embrace of darkness, his mother released him and sat on the bed, Izuku still in her arms.

"OH! Izuku, since we are up and early, what would my little boy like for breakfast?" She said while tussling his hair.

Izuku knew EXACTLY what he wanted for breakfast...the same thing he was going to ask for dinner later on in the day. "E-Eh if it's alright with you mom, can we have Katsudon?" Izuku eyes shone with hope.

Inko could not help but chuckle at this. "Of course sweetie, it is your special day afterall." Of course he would pick Katsudon, she wondered how she did not see that coming to begin with.

Inko gently put Izuku on the floor, and made her way out of the room, making a beeline to the kitchen, Izuku following close behind barely containing his excitement. As his mother entered the kitchen, and started preparing said food, Izuku went to the TV and turned it on, to be met with one of his favorite channels. Hero News was by far the most popular channel, in all of Japan, and a necessity in the standard Japanese household. Especially one with young kids like him who would stare starstruck at the heroes of today saving society. To make things better, on the screen just so happened to be All Might, Izuku's idol. If one were to enter Izuku's bedroom they would be blinded with all the memorabilia of said hero, so much so one would wonder how a kid his age acquired so much 'merchandise'. Interestingly enough, his father Hisashi was the main supplier of Izuku's addiction, as being in America surely helped in little Izuku getting his hands on some of the rarer items. Something Izuku was extremely grateful for, his father really was trying his hardest, and if Izuku had to say, his father was by far his favorite hero with All Might in a close second.

The Hero News was showcasing a live broadcast of a fight that had broken out in the Chiba Prefecture; in this fight was All Might facing off a mysterious foe. Izuku's eyes widened in excitement and he shook with glee as the reporter continued on with the story.

"All Might! You all know and love him! The Symbol of Peace is in a battle with the notorious Cobbler, who's quirk allows any person he touches to crumble into pieces!" The news anchor explained in horror. "A S ranked Villian who has been reeking havoc all throughout Chiba, if there is a man for the job it is All Might"

Izuku paled, gasping at the news, he had heard of this villian from Kacchan the other day, apparently he had caused a ruckus the other day somewhere in the Chiba prefecture, which this fight was taking place at right now. Izuku was late to the news as their electricity was cut off for a whole day as a child just like him, in their apartment had their 'quirk awakening'; and in short it was electric base and apparently fried the complex's main powerline. Resulting in said outage; of course no one blamed the poor kid, and if anything Izuku wondered if his quirk would be just as cool! Or even better, just as cool like Kacchan's! His quirk had come about four months ago, and to say it was impressive was an understatement. An explosive quirk that emits from his hands?! It is no wonder Kacchan was so amazing and powerful! Such childish wonder filled Izuku, his best friend really was something huh?

Returning to the serious news, Izuku missed whatever the news anchor had to say as it now showed All Might in a heated, yet one sided battle against Cobbler. All Might's speed and smashes were always a sight to behold. The raw power this man wielded was the sole reason villains were always kept at bay, and the main factor Izuku strived to be a hero just like him, a hero who always smiled like he was now.

"HAHA VILLAIN! YOURE REIGN OF TERROR ENDS HERE!" TV All Might exclaimed, his smile never fading.

Cobbler tried in vain to land a hand on All Might, with his speed and agility running circles around, Cobbler knew his defeat was imminent. So what better way than showcase to the whole world why exactly he was doing what he was doing to begin with. He knew they were showcasing the fight on national television.

With a yell of rage Cobbler released a scream to the metaphorical heavens above, giving All Might some pause. Izuku also was startled by the sudden turn of events, **"Why did that scream sound so...anguished?" **He thought to Izuku had just turned four he was a very bright kid, maybe it was his mother's emotional side that was ingrained in him that he felt sympathy for this villian on TV. Whatever the case this also caught the interest of Inko, as she paused to look at the TV as well. Cobbler fell upon his knees, his arms barely supporting him up as he looked absolutely defeated.

Chokingly, the villain spoke in a snarl, "LOOK AT Y-YOU! STANDING ALL HIGH AND M-MIGHTY!" The villain took a deep breath, his nerves calming. From the speakers of the TV however, it came out more like a garbled mess. "How can one like me ever hope to be a hero with such a villainous quirk? Why are all villains painted in such a bad light?! WE ARE HUMAN TOO FOR GOODNESS SAKE!" From the various viewers at home, many felt sympathy for the man, well others felt anger at the prospect this man only felt defeated now after he had been cornered. Izuku felt immense sadness wash over him, though this man had done horrible things, Izuku wondered how this man could have gotten to the point he was at now.

"We are always left to the dark, the heroes turn a blind eye to us when we were younger in need of help…" Cobbler trailed off. Suddenly, "SO WHY WAS NO ONE EVER THERE FOR ME?! IT TAKES VIOLENCE OR POWER…" Cobbler paused again, tears now streaming down his face. "To ever get noticed in this world?" It was as if all sound stopped, only the drone of helicopters blades cycling above reminding everyone that this was in fact a live feed.

All Might stayed silent staring at the man. It was rare to see All Might without his signature smile, and this was a rare chance all the viewers at home bared witness too. All Might stood stoic as he approached the man slowly, the smile now gone from his face, to the select perceptive viewers they could make out a vague hint of remorse and pity on All Might's face. All Might stood tall in front of the man below him, a shell of a man who at one point could of been an amazing hero, it made his heartache. Then to the surprise of everyone watching, the events that transpired on their screens would forever go down in history; as one of the most beautiful acts between not a villain and hero, but human to human.

All Might got to knee level with the man, and sat him upright onto his haunches. Cobbler stared in wonder at the man before him. No longer staring at a blinding smile, but the face of absolute sadness. Cobbler gasped in surprise when the number one hero, the Symbol of Peace, pulled the broken down man into a hug. TV viewers from all over followed the same sentiment; Inko and Izuku were amazed at what was happening, that for a moment Inko almost burnt the food she was cooking before she hurriedly ran to the kitchen, though her eyes glanced back to the screen.

Many to this day wondered what All Might was thinking, Cobbler had a quirk that would crumble him to pieces! Yet more surprises kept coming, Cobbler did not reach over to All Might with his hands if anything he kept them as far away as possible from the man. No the real kicker was the fact that Cobbler, a man painted in such a villainous light was crying like a child in the arms of the number one hero. From what the cameras could pick up, Cobbler was whispering in anguish stating, "It's not fair, it's not fair.." Over and over Cobbler choked out. All Might just continued to hold him. It truly was a beautiful sight to see; two grown men, one consoling the other, it was the perfect picture of what humanity stood for, solace in each other.

Whatever All Might said in return was either cut out from the viewers, or it was just said so hushed. What it could of been would crowd the various forums online as many would try to figure out what exactly he said, and it would plague Izuku's mind for the years to come. If anything, what All Might said caused the other man to tear up more, as he wailed to the sky. Though a small smile broke out on Cobblers face. The rest of what happened was a blur to Izuku's mind, his mother had set the table with the now prepared Katsudon, he was led away from the television still in shock. By now the cops and other heroes had stormed onto the scene, Cobbler was loaded into the back of an armored vehicle, with quirk inhibitor cuffs clasped around his wrist. Though known only to All Might and Cobbler, a life was truly saved that day.

Izuku was shaken from his daze when his mother called out his name in slight worry.

"Izuku honey? You should eat up before the food gets cold." She said in slight worry.

Shaking his head from his thoughts, Izuku smiled and looked to the pork cutlet dish in front of him. "Thanks mom your the best!" He said with a clasp of his hands.

Inko smiled at the boy as he dug vigorously into the dish. She knew what had happened on the news a while ago troubled her son, hell she was feeling the same. **"Such a broken soul, wonder if anything could of been different?"** Though she thought this to herself, she rubbed her head to try and clear her mind for now. It was Izuku's birthday today, and he had school in an hour. She followed her son soon after in partaking in the Katsudon she lovingly made, though almost burnt.

By the time 'breakfast' was done, and the dishes washed, Inko had noticed Izuku ran to his room, hopefully to get ready for school. Her slight worries were answered however as Izuku came running out, backpack in hand, changed, and a grin from ear to ear.

"Mom! Come on let's hurry! I want to see Kacchan, oh I know my quirk will be here soon!" Izuku said with glee.

Quirks were a curious oddity, they manifested at the age of four, and most of the time they appeared on the day of their fourth birthday or the coming week. Whatever the matter, Inko had trouble with the thought of her baby boy already getting his quirk. She knew it was what her baby had been dreaming about, but could he not just stay HER baby boy a bit longer? It would be only a matter of time before he grew older, made new friends, went to middle school, then his dream high school. Oh how she wished her bird could stay a bit longer in the nest…

Inko grabbed Izuku, giving him another strong hug. She sniffled slightly though had a small smile on her face. "My big boy is already so big. Can't you just stay small a bit longer?" She begged with sincerity. Izuku however found the idea funny and giggled at his mothers plea.

"Ehe c-come on mom, I'm a b-big boy now!" He stuttered out. "But I love you too mommy." This awarded him with kisses and cuddles from the older woman, as she gave one last squeeze to her son. She always loved it when he would call her mommy, reminded her that she was still her precious little boy, no matter what the years would say.

"Alright alright, well we better get going then. I know for a fact Katsuki is waiting for you." Inko said with a smile. Knowing that those two were inseparable filled Inko's chest with warmth. Being childhood friends with Mitsuki, it reminded her of her younger days with the other boys mother. She wondered if their bond would stay just as strong as it was for them in all the way till adulthood. A mother could only hope.

Soon they began the short walk to Izuku's pre-school, mother walking in tow behind her over energetic charge. Though Izuku had just turned four today, she could not help but wonder if his quirk would be a stronger variation of hers, or her husbands quirk? **"For all I know I could be a mixture of both...whatever that would entail"** She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard her name being called out from a distance. As they approached the school's gates she noticed a woman had called her over; said woman her being her childhood best friend Mitsuki.

Inko smiled and waved towards her, picking up her pace, Izuku was already chatting with Kacchan. **"That boy sure moves fast." **She sighed to herself.

The two of them were lost in their childish conversation, discussing what sounded like the All Might news from this morning; but namely the latter asking if Izuku had gotten a quirk and such. Inko neared Mitsuki and they embraced.

"Hey Suki-Chan~" Inko affectionately called out. Though childish in nature the two always found mirth in their silly nicknames to each other.

"Well, well Ink-Chan~" Mitsuki teased back. "How's my favorite green-ette doing today?"

Inko laughed, rolling her eyes. "Who me? Or this cinnamon roll here?" Breaking their embrace, they looked over to the two children excitedly talking to each other.

"Both of you dummy, but first…" Mitsuki gave pause, with stealth she quickly snatched up Izuku into her arms. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE DUDE!" She exclaimed.

Mitsuki had always been a rambunctious woman, never feeling shy around others. Judging from the other parents and kids looking her way waringly, she paid them no mind as she thoroughly smothered Izuku. Izuku on the other hand felt embarrassed at his aunts touch, but all the same he returned the affection. Though not biologically his aunt, Inko and Mitsuki were so close that Izuku took it upon himself to call her as such, Kacchan shared the same sentiment to his mother as well.

"Eh-ehhh a-auntie!" Izuku nervously called out. "Me and K-Kacchan were talking about w-what my quirk would b-be!" Izuku had a small pout on his face, though it broke apart as he smiled and gave her a hug. "Thanks auntie Suki." Izuku affectionately said back.

Mitsuki gave a loud boisterous laugh at this, setting him down next to her son Katsuki, noticing the small scowl on his face.

Mitsuki grew a shit eating grin. "Aww is my little Bakugo jelly-welly? Oh come here pumpkin." She made a reach for her son, only from him to duck out of her grasp.

"Q-Quit it mom you're in the way of Deku's and I's plans!" Katsuki said in a slightly angry tone.

Without batting an eye, Mitsuki gave him a firm swat to the head. " IS THAT any way to talk to your mother you little sh-, *ahem* young man?" Though she sounded gentle, the tic mark on her forehead looked comical. Do not get them wrong however, the two loved each other very much so, Katsuki was too stubborn to admit it, while Mitsuki had a unique way of showing it.

Katsuki grumbled as he rubbed his head where she hit gently, it did not hurt by any means, the woman was not abusive to her child, but man did it irk Katsuki. Inko all the while looked at the display between the two with a smile, shaking her head. Izuku however, grabbed Katsuki by his hand and began leading him to their class.

"Quick Kacchan! Before they take our seats!" Izuku said while tugging his friend along, who was not very happy at the notion of being pulled along.

"Grrr. Deku let go of me! I c-can lead my self!" He shouted back, as the two faded away in the distance.

To anyone else "Deku" would seem like a horrible nickname for a child, it essentially meant useless. Yet to the both of them, it was a playful tease, Izuku taking no offense from it. At first it worried Inko, and angered Mitsuki, though the boys explained to them how it was all in jest. Though they did not approve, the two women could only watch as their sons ran off into the school building.

"Sometimes Inko, those two worry me." Mitsuki said with a drawn out sigh.

Inko sighed in return. "Me to Mitsuki, those boys are going to be a handful when they are older aren't they?"

Mitsuki nodded her head. "Yea, but it is up to us to keep them straight right?" With that declaration Mitsuki gave her childhood friend a small punch to the shoulder.

Inko not being all that strong winced at the hit, glaring at the 'attacker'. "You know Suki, with all that strength I worry about you. Poor Masaru…" she trailed off with a giggle at the end.

Mitsuki scoffed, rolling her eyes. "*Tskkk* Bahhh that man is fine trust me. I mean he's made it this far right?" At that both the woman laughed at the idea and said their farewells to each other.

"Well see you in a few Ink-Chan~!" Mitsuki called out as she walked away.

"Likewise Suki-Chan~" Inko called back.

Now only a few hours before she had to come pick up Izuku, but now that she thought about it, **"I guess I need to get more ingredients for Katsudon huh?" **

Izuku was met with many happy birthdays, and excitement as his fellow classmates awaited on what his quirk could possibly be. Izuku himself could barely contain his excitement, and wondered why it was taking SOOOOOO long for it to just show up! That childish impatience was only noticed by the faculty as they walked by, namely their teacher who had been watching the excitement from the door of the classroom.

"Calm down kids take your seats." He ordered. The hustle and bustle of kids dashing towards their desk was music to his ears.

"Now first and foremost, happy birthday Izuku." The teacher smiled towards him.

Izuku smiles and gave a thanks in return.

"Secondly, you all know what day it is today right?" He was met with silence. **"Ahhh the cluelessness of youth.."**

One brave student raised their hand to answer. "Yes, Airi?" The teacher called out.

"I-Is it Taco Tuesday?" She stuttered our. This brought the class into a fit of giggles at the very "American joke".

The teacher laughed all the same and shook his head. "Good try Airi! But no sadly it is not 'Taco Tuesday'". He added with emphasis on the phrase. "Why it is HISTORY DAY OF COURSE!" He said with excitement

The class groaned at the idea of it. Again music to his ears as he smiled with glee. What kind of man enjoyed the torturing of kids, no less those who were merely four year olds?

"Fret not children, I know how much you all adore these lessons! So let us begin shall we?"

Some of the students grumbled as they brought out the materials needed from their tiny backpacks. Izuku however was looking out the window to his left. Though there was not much to see out there other than the gates of the school, he found himself lost in thought. His little mind was going insane on what his quirk could possibly be. **"Would it be my moms telekinesis, or dads fire breath? Or better yet a mixture of both?!" **The idea itself seemed far fetched, but Izuku wondered if with the two he would have to power to control flames? That would surely be cool in his eyes, Kacchan would even think it was cool! Izuku went about his day with his childhood best friend as normal. Overall just enjoying the merits that come with youth. It was a good day at school, yet something in the back of his little mind gave him pause. Maybe it was from the Hero News he saw in the morning, but he could not shake this feeling of dread away from the pit of his stomach. **"What if my quirk….is villainous?"**

_A Few hours later _

Izuku said his farewells to Kacchan and aunty Suki as normal, his mother picked him up from school, and they walked home together hand in hand. Still, this feeling Izuku felt did not go away, he clutched onto Inko's hand tighter startling her slightly.

"Honey? What's the matter?" Inko worriedly asked. Looking down at her son she noticed his face was scrunched up in thought.

Izuku was silent, his mind running a thousand miles a minute. The thought of having a villainous quirk never came to his mind, he always thought he would be born with something heroic and valiant. Just like All Might. But today's news made his stomach feel weird, and he wondered why it was just hitting him now.

"Izuku?"

Startled, Izuku looked up to his mother to see a worried and kind face staring into his soul.

"You've been quiet this whole walk sweetie, what's bothering you?" At this Inko stopped and got on her knees to stare into the boys eyes.

Izuku gulped slightly and looked away. She barely caught what his tiny voice whispered.

"M-Mom I'm s-s-scared.." His voice sounded so meek and frail.

Inko looked towards her son puzzled gently bringing him into a hug. "Whatever for sweetie?" Her voice sounded so angelic and calming, yet to Izuku it calmed him none.

"W-What if I have a b-b-b-bad quirk?" He stuttered out.

"Bad quirk? Izuku what do you mean?" Inko was confused to say the least. What could he possibly mean by that? Was he thinking his quirk would be weak like her weak telekinesis? Before she could try and ease his worries what he said next shocked her.

"I have this f-feeling mommy that my qu-quirk is going to be v-villainous.." Izuku whispered out the last word, trying to convince himself it would not be true, that this feeling he had in his gut would be nothing more than just a feeling.

Inko gripped her son tighter feeling tears falling out her eyes. "Izuku! Hush now silly! You are to heroic to have a villainous quirk, plus there is no such thing as one to begin with...shhhhh it's okay my love…" Her words somewhat calmed Izuku down, enough to make him feel slightly at peace in his small mind.

Inko carried Izuku the rest of the way home, the little boy slowly falling asleep in her arms. She thought it would be a bad idea for him to take a nap now, he would not be able to sleep later on at night, but today was Friday and he had no school tomorrow. So she chanced it and let her boy sleep on the way home. She had not made dinner yet and decided to lay Izuku on the couch at home, who was still fast asleep in her arms. She laid him gently on the couch, making sure his little head did not hit the cushion to hard.

Soon the sounds of clinks and clanks rang out through the kitchen as Inko prepared dinner. She had only realized how late it had been when she saw from outside the kitchen window that the sun had gone down. She looked over to see Izuku was still fast asleep, his hands laying on his stomach. With dinner done, she felt she needed to wake him up before he really could not sleep tonight, with this she walked towards her son to awaken him.

With gentleness only a mother could give, she lightly tried shaking him awake. "Izuku? Come on sweetie get up." She said with her voice laced with nothing but affection and care.

Izuku groaned about in his sleep and turned over, this time with his hands under his head. Unbeknownst to Inko, where Izuku's hands laid a small patch of grey was forming. Trying again she reached over grabbing his hands out from under him.

"Now, now, Izuku you have to eat di-" Her voice cut off as she felt her hands go numb, a coldness washed over her. Looking towards her hands she saw they were being encased by a grey hard substance, she could not move her hands, and whatever it was was spreading fast up the rest of her body. The look of horror that was painted on her face would be one of her greatest regrets she would have for the rest of her life. She felt her whole body go numb, and she could not move a single inch. Yet she could still see, albeit everything looked in grey scale. She could not hear a single sound however, something she would be grateful for in the long run…

Izuku slowly awoke from his slumber to a rough feeling around both of his hands. Puzzled he looked towards what it could of possibly been to be treated with a grey blob before his eyes. Squinting a bit, his eyes adjusted to the lighting to bare witness to something that would forever haunt his memories. Standing before him, with his hands wrapped around their own, stood his mother, a look of absolute fear plastered on her face. Izuku froze staring wide eyed at the statue before him. He tried giving his hands a tug to only be met with restraint. Inko tried screaming but no sound came out, she tried moving to no avail. The look her son was giving her told her all she needed to know. He was terrified.

The look her son gave her would forever haunt her that much she was sure of, and she knew for a fact that the only reason he had that face was because surely, the look she had on her face, was one contorted in horror. Not because of Izuku by any means, how could she ever fear her baby boy; but a primal feeling deeply ingrained in her that told her this feeling of numbness and cold, surely meant death. It was terrifying, and knowing she was the cause of Izuku's anguish at this moment tore at her very heart strings. That's when she saw it, and thanked whatever was happening that she could not hear. Izuku SCREAMED. The way his face contorted made Inko's mind go numb. The way Izuku struggled to remove his hands from the cold touch of her own ripped apart her very soul. With as much force as he could muster Izuku in the midst of his panic pulled his hands back with all his might, resulting in him being set free.

Izuku laid his hands on the couch staring up at what he could only assume was his mom in fear. That's when Izuku noticed a tingling sensation envelop his hands. He looked down only to see the same substance forming around the couch, the source emanating from his hands. Izuku squeaked in horror and removed his hands quickly. The substance stayed but stopped its spreading all together; Izuku made a run for the house phone, something his mother always told him to do in case of emergencies. However, upon grabbing said phone it instantly hardened with the substance again. Izuku dropped the phone in fear, a resounding thud rang out through the apartment.

Izuku was now hysterical at this point, his own tears flooding his vision as he made a mad dash back towards his mother. Not noticing how anything his hands grazed along the way had the grey substance form over it, varying coverage depending on how long his hands happened to touch them. As any crying child would he cried out to his mother.

"M-MOM wh-what's hap-happening?" Izuku said. He received no answer, why was she not answering him? "Pl-please anyone h-help m-me…" His frail voice called out. "H-Help my m-mommy."

Inko's mind was a fury of emotions, standing before her was her son calling out to her she knew that for a fact with the way he looked towards her. She willed everything in her body to move anything, she tried activating her quirk. Anything to get her son to know she was right there and she could see him! She felt the usual small tug of her quirk activating, but could not move a single thing. This was Inko's worst nightmare playing out before her, her baby was alone, utterly and truly alone at this moment.

Izuku felt his mind going blank, this being to much stress for his little body to handle. He tried his damndest to keep his eyes open he needed to help her, no save his mommy! But there was nothing he could do. He knew it was coming from his hands whatever this was, but how could he help his mother if he could not touch her? His world was slowly growing dark, he felt a numbness reverberate to his core. His eyes were weeping and crying for his mother, but all she could do was stare at him with that same look of horror that was etched onto her face. A fear he knew he was the cause of, a fear he knew that would be remembered.

As if something willed him too, Izuku clapped his hands together. He does not know what possessed him to do so, maybe out of anger towards his hands? Whatever made him, it fixed the problem at hand though. Immediately Izuku's body felt a huge rush of stamina depleted from his already fragile body. It instantly made him go unconscious, but not without hearing a faint gasp and the resounding sound of crumbling? Izuku could think no more as his world turned dark.

Inko felt all function to her body return the immediate second Izuku had clapped his hands together. Before even worrying about her own well being she made a rush towards her son. Who's hands had already started turning the floor to whatever that grey material was. Carefully she held his hands away from anything, as well as her, and tried her best to hold him. Inko felt her eyes looked dead, she had such a dull look in her eyes at this moment she wondered if maybe this was all a dream somehow. Her son got his quirk that was for sure, but why was it so different from hers and Hisashi's? It made no sense usually it followed that pattern, it was extremely rare to ever see something that would completely follow another pathway. Inko shook her thoughts away for the moment willing herself to calm down as best she could; she needed to make calls, and she needed to make them NOW.

Izuku had slept all throughout the night, and almost all morning the next day. His quirk had drained his stamina completely dry and sent him into a form of a coma. It was not uncommon for kids to experience this, usually powerful or stamina based quirks had this effect on first time users. He awoke with a massive headache, one that made his whole body ache. At his stirring he heard the calm voice of his mother start soothing him.

"Shhh sweetie it's okay sleep more if you like? We are in no rush okay?"

That's when Izuku opened his eyes in shock, and looked up to see the caring and loving smile on her face once more.

"M-mommy…"

The very way Izuku spoke that word broke Inko's heart, she slowly leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. The contact soothed Izuku that he felt somewhat at ease once more, his mother was here safe and not that frightening statue from earlier. Izuku now noticing, felt an odd sensation around his wrist to see they were inside a container of Tupperware. A slit cut out so his hands would fit inside comfortably. Noticing his stare Inko gave out an awkward chuckle.

"Sorry honey, it was the best I could think of for the moment…" Her voice trailed off

That's when it hit Izuku, his hands were the reason why all this mess started in the first place. Tears started streaming down his face again as he remembered all that happened yesterday, a living nightmare. Inko tried her best to hush his cryings, trying her strongest to not just join in with his weeping. But things needed to get done today, and the two had an appointment with a quirk doctor in a few hours that she needed to get him ready for.

"I-Izuku I'm so sorry love. But you have to be strong okay? Like all the heroes you see on TV okay?" Inko slightly begged.

Izuku nodded his head slowly trying to smile like All Might would.

"We have a doctors appointment in a few hours okay? You remember how I always told you when you got your quirk we would have to go there as soon as possible?" She queried gently.

Izuku nodded his head, he had remembered that. Kacchan had to go through the same thing so I guess it was his turn now. Izuku felt his moms warm embrace return and felt the world of sleep slowly take over him. **"It is a few hours away, it wouldn't hurt letting him sleep a bit more." **

"Oh my little boy, don't you worry you will be just fine…" she cooed gently.

_Doctors office_

"How fascinating."

Inko had brought Izuku to the doctor as stated earlier, and roughly five hours had passed. At the moment the doctor was doing the usual quirk examination, ensuring everything was up to spread. Izuku was a healthy young boy, with a VERY interesting quirk.

"Mrs. Midoriya, from all the tests we have conducted. Your Son is a perfectly healthy young boy, no abnormalities in his blood or system whatsoever." The doctor adjusted his glasses. "For his quirk however it is very interesting to say the least."

Inko gulped at this, while Izuku looked on in fear and wonder.

Continuing. the doctor finished up his analysis, "Anything he touches turns into stone as we can clearly see. Though the speed of the stone setting varies on how many fingers he as touching said object, and if he has both hands wrapped around something it will instantly be encased." He gestured to the various objects encased in stone around the room. "And whenever he brings his hands together, be it a clap or gently, the stone dissipates!" At this Izuku slowly brought his two hands together, the stone that encased the items crumbled away, showing what was encased below. This power...it scared Izuku and Inko noticed this.

The doctor stood up and reached into some cabinets behind him, pulling out a pair of small gloves.

"Here Izuku put these on." Handing the gloves over, Izuku held the gloves in his hands waiting for them to turn to stone like everything else would. To his surprise they stayed the same with no changes coming to them.

"Interesting aren't they? These are given to people with quirks just like you! Why just the other day a girl who could make things float was in my office. Just like you she has to touch her hands together to release the object!" The doctor smiled at the young boy, laying a hand on his shoulder. "I know you might have some slight fear in your quirk Izuku, but please put those thoughts at ease okay? What you have is beautiful, and don't you forget that."

Inko felt her eyes tear up slightly as she saw a small spark return to Izuku's eyes, but that was short lived as the fear returned again. It was going to take a long while she knew that, Izuku was terrified, and what he experienced yesterday was going to haunt him for years to come. She knew for a fact the way he looked at her caused a permanent stain in her mind, something she knows as a mother will never go away. It hurt Inko's soul, chilled her to the very bone, but all she could do was be there for her son and never let go.

_A Few days later_

Izuku and his mother were on a familiar car ride to auntie Aiko's house. Izuku had his little gloves on as he looked out the car window. The enjoyment and life he once had for the drive seemed grey to him now. He felt lost within himself, a feeling a child should not experience, but he could not shake the feeling of his moms face from his mind. Maybe visiting auntie would help relieve some of this fear? She always had a way with comforting him, something Inko was aware of and took advantage of. The drive was quiet and calm as the two finally made it to the front of her house, parking in the driveway.

Aiko had heard the car pull up and made a mad dash to the door, throwing it open to see Inko barely bringing Izuku out. Quickly she approached the two and brought Izuku into a firm embrace. "Hey hun, it's great to see you." Aiko said with happiness. Though the way he hugged her hurt her deeply, he returned the hug but not with his arms wrapping around her. He simply leaned forward into the contact, his arms as stiff as boards on his sides. **"He's scared." **She reasoned to herself. From what Inko had frantically called her about a lot had happened the last few days. Her sister was a mess, and she was hysterical on the phone that Aiko had trouble figuring out what she was saying at first; but once she calmed down it all made sense to her.

Aiko turned to her little sister, "Hey sis? Let's go inside yeah?" With a nod from Inko they went inside.

Izuku found himself by the double sliding door again staring out to the park. He looked to his hands to see the gloves firmly wrapped around his fingers and palm. It was like any ordinary pair of gloves, the doctor had simply explained support heroes had perfected them so people with quirks like him, could function in everyday life. He had blocked out the conversation his mother and aunt were having on the couch down the room. They were most likely talking about him, he felt terrible knowing he caused his mom so much stress, and hurt her…

Turning around gently Izuku went over to the two of them, a question on his mind.

"Mom...auntie?" He meekly said.

They turned their attention to him. "Can we go to the park?"

The two women smiled at him. "Of course we can sweetie." Chirped Inko.

"Yeah, it is a little stuffy in here huh?" Aiko followed up.

Izuku offered the two a small smile and made his way to the sliding doors. Inko made a grab for his hand, only to be met with Izuku pulling his hand away suddenly, looking at her in fear. Not of her, but of himself. Inko tried her best to hide the hurt on her face, failing to do so. Izuku noticed what he subconsciously did and reached over for her hand hesitantly.

"Sorry m-mommy, I forgot I had m-my gloves o-on.." Izuku said while looking down in shame.

Inko reached over and grabbed her sons hand, smiling at him as he looked up at her face. Aiko opened the door for the two of them. The walk to the park was nice, as the weather out was sunny with a hint of a nice breeze. As the two went to sit down by a pair of benches nearby, Izuku found himself walking towards a tree in the distance. He had hoped for some odd reason Setsuna would be right behind the tree, but as he turned the tree he was met with nothing but emptiness. However, a flower was blooming by the base of the tree, it caught his attention.

Izuku took off his glove, wondering if by some chance his quirk disappeared, and he could feel the soft petals of the flower grace his skin.

Of course it was hopeless to think such a thing would happen so suddenly. As soon as he made contact with just the tips of three fingers, the flower solidified, turning into solid rock, it looked almost beautiful and poetic. Such a beautiful thing, shackled down by such ugly greyness it looked like it was drawn in black and white. Yet to Izuku, the feeling he should of felt for his quirk, the feeling of loving with what his quirk was and how it now defined him; he felt none of these things as he felt numb just looking at the poor flower. Without clapping his hands together or giving them a touch to free it from its prison, Izuku ran straight to his mother and aunt sitting on the bench. Izuku had of course slipped his free hand into the other glove, to ensure nothing was affected by his toxic touch. It made him feel bitter knowing he would never be able to feel the contact of the leaves in a tree, the soft petals of a flower, and the soft warmth of his mother's hand in his own ever again. Not without the gloves being in the way of it all.

Inko and Aiko noticed him making a mad dash for them, and wondered what could have happened. They had only been in the park for a measly eight minutes, and here came Izuku barreling towards them, tears slipping past his eyes. Before any of them could ask what was wrong, Izuku reached for his mothers hand gently.

"C-Can we go back to a-aunties?" Though they wanted to question what was on the boys mind, Inko without hesitation picked him up, and started walking to her sister's house once more. Aiko watched as they started walking away, looking back towards the tree they saw him go to. With a sad sigh she followed soon behind them, walking at a brisk pace to catch up to them.

_One hour Later_

Little Setsuna Tokage was running a bit ahead from her parents, making a beeline for her favorite tree. She could hear the shouts of her father in the distance, but little Setsuna was so excited! She wondered if her favorite lizard would be at the tree again? She had named her Lizardy, something her little mind found cute and adorable. Also she assumed it was a girl so that just made things better in her head.

"Ugh that kid." Fujio said with an aggravated sigh. This met him with the loud giggles of his wife following behind.

"Well she is your daughter, don't act like you were a saint in your youth hun." Asako countered back at his complaint.

Fujio chuckled. "Well you got me there, but who would always join me in being mischievous eh?" He wiggled his eyebrows in her direction, the largest toothiest grin plastering his face.

That shit eating grin always annoyed Asako, she found it endearing. "No comment." With that they sat on the bench near the tree their daughter ran off too, and looked as their daughter disappeared behind the other side.

In curious wonder Setsuna thought of whatever came of Izuku? She had not seen him in a few months and wondered if he had gotten his quirk yet? She still had a way to go before she was four, but from what she could tell Izuku was older than her by a few months. Anyways before she could look up at the tree for her favorite lizard friend, she was greeted by a discolored site against the stark contrast of the trees bark. As she looked closer she realized it was a flower, but even odder was the fact that it was a rock? OH! Lizardy was on top of the peculiar looking flower too! Her tongue stuck out in concentration, trying to grab for the lizard, maybe this would be the day she caught it! However, as her shadow cast over the flower, the lizard scurried up the tree only leading to Setsuna grabbing air. Groaning in childish annoyance Setsuna, heard a slight thump as the flower fell gently to the grass below.

Eyes shining, Setsuna picked up the rock? Flower? Examining it closely, she could not help but smile at how beautiful it looked, and with her new discovery in hand, she ran back to her parents. Who saw her approaching in such a hurry.

"Whoa Whoa kid where's the fire?" Fujio jokingly said.

"M-Momma, P-Papa." She gasped out, the run had winded her.

"Yes sweetie, is everything alright?" Asako said, though noticed how their daughter was carrying a rock?

"LOOK!" She shouted with glee.

Curiously Fujio reached over and pulled the rock from her hand, only to then realize it was flower shaped. Asako herself was curious on how such a thing came to be, maybe it was an art project?

"It's...nice sweetie? Where did you find this?" Fujio wondered.

Setsuna gave a toothy grin from ear to ear, pointing to the tree behind her. "It was just there growing by the tree! Oh and Lizardy was on it!" All the while barely containing herself in her own shoes….if that was even possible.

Fujio hmmm'ed to himself as he passed it over to his wife, who looked it over herself, smiling at the weird but beautiful find.

"Well it is very pretty Setsuna, would you like us to hold it for you as you continue to play?" Asako hummed gently.

Setsuna shook her head, the smile never leaving her face. "Nah! Lizardy made a run up the tree, and I don't need another scar on my knee." She giggled while pointing to said scar.

Fujio laughed at this as he reached over and picked up his daughter. "Well we really don't want that happening now do we?" He stated as he threw Setsuna into the air lightly. Which earned him squeals and giggles.

Asako laughed at the twos antics as she joined them side by side on the walk back to the car. Reaching over she handed the rock flower over to Setsuna who quickly snatched it into her small hands. She tried giving it a sniff, wondering if it would smell like all others flowers would, only to be met with a senseless smell. Setsuna just smiled even bigger, **"I wonder who made this? I bet they are pretty just like this flower…"**

_Sorry if there are any noticeable issues, or glaring issues with grammar or punctuation. I am typing this story for my love of the show, and as an English Major, I feel it helps hone in my abilities to become a better author and writer in general. I now admire all the work proofreaders have to go through as I know I missed some things here and there. **Anyways enough about that, I hope the story is growing out a bit more, the world is slowly being built and the pieces are definitely coming into place. Thank you so much again to all those who have Favorited and followed thus far. Good Day.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_As always,_ Enjoy.

Rocks, Hurdles, and Memories

_Six years Later_

Izuku had recently turned the almighty age of ten a few days ago. Nothing eventful happened other than spending the day with his mother, auntie Mitsuki, and Kacchan. Uncle Masura was always working, just like his own father. Speaking of which, when Izuku's quirk had first appeared, his father tried his damndest to get the time off and see his family as soon as possible. Though it took a month before he was allowed such, the much needed visit is what Izuku needed for his morale.

The absence of a father as of late bothered Izuku, and had been affecting him mentally. When he had first seen his father again when he was four, he could not help the tears that slipped from his eyes as he was reunited with his "number one hero". After that fateful day at the park with the flower, Izuku had not seen his father in about a years time, his father having missed Christmas the previous year. Though the late night calls once a week were still a thing, as Izuku got older he felt an emptiness linger inside him. So when his father came rushing in through the door, Izuku could barely contain his four year old self from rushing into his dad's open arms. Izuku felt whole again, he had both his mother and father home. It was a much needed break from the raw emotions Izuku still felt from his quirk.

It was because of this that Hisashi made it a necessity to come and visit at least once every four months, which totaled three visits, which spanned about a week in length. So as it followed, one visit was to be ensured during his birthday week in July, a week in November, and a week in March. However, Hisashi for the first time in six years could not make the journey over to Japan to see his son and wife. Not because he did not want to, far from it. But rather his boss had decided a change of pace was needed in the office he worked at. So it essentially threw all the dates and plannings askew that Hisashi had to begrudgingly put up with, rather the whole office complex had to put up with. The money was good, but when one worked for a literal dumbass, how much can a sane man take?

Though Izuku fully understood why Hisashi was not coming for his tenth birthday, he felt sadness quell from deep within him. He loved and missed his father dearly, and because of this absence Izuku felt his knowledge, and training of his quirk was lacking. Inko always wanted to help Izuku with trying to 'hone in' on what he could, and could not due with his quirk; but Izuku, even after six years felt guilt over what had happened on his fourth birthday. What haunted him was the look of horror his moms face showed him, it was imprinted into his mind, a permanent part of him, a part always reminding him that his quirk was...ugly.

Though from what he could garner from his training sessions alone, was how each finger played a unique part in how fast he could encase something in stone. When using his thumb, most things about the size of an apple took about ten seconds to be fully encased in stone. His middle and ring finger brought up the ante by roughly five seconds. Surprisingly, his pinky clocked in at three seconds, and perhaps the most frightening finger of all had to be his index finger. If Izuku were to simply put his pointing finger on said apple, it would instantly solidify in the rock casing. Though the drawback was noticeable when using said finger, he'd feel a sharpness of pain fill his palm. So when he put all of them together, and if Izuku were to grab you with just one hand, one would find their whole body being encased in stone in about five seconds. And god forbid if he grabbed a person with both his hands, the solidification would be instant, not allowing one to catch their breath in the slightest. **"Or so I theorize"** Izuku had almost forgotten why he even thought of all this, only to remember he was still out and about with his mother, Kacchan, and auntie Mitsuki. Being reminded such by his grouchy best friend.

"Heeelllllloooooooo! Earth to Deku are you there?" Katsuki said with annoyance.

Izuku looked to Katsuki to see his mother looking at him worryingly, like always, and Mitsuki shaking her head with a chuckle.

"Kid, you really have to stop doing that, your mother and I worry for that big head of yours." Mitsuki always had a way with words.

"Oh sorry mom, auntie Suki, Kacchan." Izuku looked to the side. "I guess I want dad here so much I started thinking about him."

Inko worried for her sons wellbeing. He used to always be a cute stuttering mess when he would formulate his words, but as of late he always had more of a serious and calm tone in his words. Something Inko had not liked one bit.

"Deku! Come on you sidekick! How are we ever going to be top heroes with your head always being so far up your a-" Before Katsuki could finish, Mitsuki hit him up the back of the head in annoyance.

"OI! You brat watch your language! I swear I wonder where you even learned such colorful language."

Before Katsuki could retort, he saw the fierce glare in his mother's eyes that he decided the smartest choice was to hold his scalding tongue for now. Though the small explosions fizzling in his hands showcased how he really felt on the matter.

"Izuku?"

Izuku looked towards his mother, noticing the troubled look in her eyes.

"Yes mom?" He inquired

"I was wondering if for your birthday dinner today, you would want the same old same old?"

This spiked Izuku's mood up a bit, his mother was always trying her best to make him happy. No matter the nightmares that plagued his still young mind, his mothers caring side always shone through in the darkest of reaches.

"Katsudon? Do you even need to ask mom? Of course I want it!" Izuku exclaimed with a smile. The dish was still his favorite to this very day.

"Well we all better get going before the sun gets any lower. Katsuki! Come on let's go." Mitsuki grabbed her charge by his shoulders and she faced the two green-ettes.

"Happy birthday again Izuku, hope we made it a bit better~" she said with mirth.

Katsuki rolled his eyes as he was held in place. Though he offered his best friend a small wave.

"See you at school in two days Deku. Keep practicing that quirk, how are we going to be the best if you're already falling behind?" At this Katsuki gave him a large grin.

Izuku returned the smile tenfold. "Will do Kacchan, just make sure you don't slouch around, I'm closer than you think."

Katsuki chortled, sounding odd coming from the scowl faced kid. "We will see about that Deku."

Inko gave Mitsuki a wave of her own smiling at her longtime friend. "Thanks for coming along Suki-Chan. It is always fun with you two around."

Mitsuki rubbed her nose slightly. "Heheh, when all four of us are together all families best step aside!" She matched her friends smile.

At this declaration the two separate families parted ways. The Midoriyas heading straight home, as Mitsuki and Katsuki headed to a nearby mart for some things for their own dinner.

Izuku adjusted his gloves slightly, he had to get a new pair every few months or so as his hands constantly kept growing as he aged. These felt like they were getting on the tighter side, so a visit to the quirk doctor would come in the next few days he was sure of it, well that was one of the reasons he had to go at least.

"Hey Izuku, how goes the progress with your quirk?" Inko wondered, hoping the conversation would distract him. Though he feared what his quirk could do, he was fascinated all the same. Like a 'morbid curiosity'.

"It's been pretty good mom. Like I said the other day my fingers play a huge role on what quickens the pace of the stone solidification." Izuku explained. It always interested Inko how he could use such big words being so young.

"Oh and of course, my quirk still does not affect me." He analyzed while shoving a now ungloved hand on his face.

Inko's was grateful for that, she could only imagine how Izuku would of felt if his own quirk was against him.

"Actually now that I think about it, I did a few tests a while back on how bringing my hands together breaks the encasement as you know. Furthermore, I wondered if there was a maximum distance to it, and I was going to conduct some further tests on it later, it would be interesting to see if the ramifications could only be undone if I am in a certain radius. I was also hoping one day to be able to get my hands on a saw—well actually I can't really get my hands on anything without my gloves on so I guess?— my gloved hands on anything strong enough to break through my casings and se- and I am doing it again huh mom?"

Inko stared wide eyed at the boy, though a small smile graced her lips. Izuku noticed in the middle of his tirade, or as others called it muttering, his mother had kept staring at him like his head was missing. Inko did not know when he picked it up, but she figured it had to do with those hero analysis notebooks she saw his nose buried deep within at home. It reminded her that Izuku had childish curiosity still deep within him, no matter how much she knew he feared his quirk, and what it did to her; he really was trying to figure out what exactly his quirk was capable of. Whether it was for his own sake, or those around him Inko could not tell.

Inko acting quickly, tried her best to defuse the situation, Izuku always felt embarrassed and ashamed when he'd go on one of his little muttering sprees. So Inko did the only thing she could think of that would hopefully show her son, she did not mind one bit. She reached over and ruffle up his green hair of course, **"Wow, I don't have to bend down anymore to ruffle his hair…"** She sadly thought to herself. **"Guess it was only a matter of time."** Inko knew her time of babying him like how she used to was coming to an end, he would not even let her carry him home anymore! Though I guess that would look weird since he was ten after all….

"Izuku I've told you lots of times sweetie, don't be ashamed of who you are." She said gently.

Izuku looked up to her, his hair blocking his eyes a bit. "Oh I k-know mom, just go-got a little e-excited there ." Izuku paused looking towards his gloved hands. For a change of pace from the usual black, he wanted the color green. A color he felt was easier on his eyes, and heavily contrasted on whatever he wore...kinda like a warning sign to others. He saw the looks others gave him as he walked about town with his mother. It was rare to see a child let alone anyone wearing a pair of gloves in the middle of summer, but almost everyone knew for a fact it had to do something with his quirk.

Some looked on in wonder, thinking to themselves what could those gloves possibly be preventing. Or in most of the cases, they would look on in fear, fear of the unknown as auntie Aiko would call it. It was because of these looks Izuku's once favorite color red was forever ruined for him. Just last year his aunt got into an altercation with some other women when he was staying over at her house for a weekend.

()

_It was a peaceful day for the two, Aiko and Izuku were walking hand in hand by the park that was behind her house. It was rather big surprisingly, and a little just across the way was a small outdoor shopping center. Many parents with their kids alike would walk about said place to kill time, or partake in shopping after a long day in the park. It was about a five minute walk, which in this weather felt refreshing._

_Izuku was happy. He had just gotten a pair of red gloves from the doctor for his ninth birthday! Of course they were free and the doctor would happily supply them, but it was a gift specifically from the doctor, and it brought so much warmth to his little heart. Apparently his doctor had heard his favorite color was red, and went out of his way to get a custom color for him! Izuku was naive however, said boy never noticed the looks some would seldom give him when he wore the other colored gloves, or gloves in general. But with the bright red contrast to his pale white skin, many were looking at the two as they walked, still hand in hand. _

_Aiko noticed though; and boy was it pissing her off. Aiko lacked a quirk, deeming her quirkless, but some would question if this was true or not when she would get upset, it was a sight to behold that was for sure. She heard the snickers and whispers of others as they wondered why this boy would be wearing gloves in the middle of August. Some were playful and curious of course, and for those Aiko was SOMEWHAT grateful for, but no the BAD ONES she could pick up were making her blood boil. Words like "monster", "trouble child", "hideous" were just some parts of their sentences she could pick up. __**"Who the FUCK. Do these people think they are?" **__She had thought to herself angrily. _

_It was not uncommon for others to be picked on, or ridiculed on what a certain quirk was, or the way it altered someone's appearance. Many incidences on the regular news showcased various protest from groups of quirked individuals, or violent altercations that would come up between families or strangers alike. It was a sad world, and being quirkless herself put her in the category of "ridiculed", or putting it bluntly the minority. _

"_Auntie?" _

_Aiko shook her head from the fog that was clouding her mind. She looked down to Izuku to see him tugging on her hand gently, while he pointed forward with the other. Curious, she looked towards the direction to see two women walking towards them._

"_**Uh-oh, I can smell the trouble from here." **__ She thought to herself. Conscious of the possible trouble, she pulled her nephew closer to her side. With the way of disgust the two women were looking at not her, but Izuku, instantly sent her mind into a frenzy. _

"_How ghastly." One hotly said as they neared. _

"_Yeah, it's a real eyesore I'll tell you that much." The other quipped. _

_Aiko hoped to the gods above that they were either commenting on her outfit, or Izuku's color choice in his gloves. SHE HOPED that's what these women were even daring to come at them with. Being a fashionista and Midnight's main designer, she took pride in her eye for fashion. She did find Izuku's glove color choice odd, but she loved her nephew dearly, and lacked the heart to tell him the color was brighter than the sun itself. However, it was too good to be true. _

"_Make sure you keep that monster on his leash yes?" _

_Aiko did not know which one said it, as she had looked down to Izuku who was shaking in slight fear. But when she heard those words her head snapped to the two in fury. _

"_Excuse me." Aiko snarled out. It wasn't a polite 'excuse me'one would ask to pass by someone, no it was one of anger and in wonderment of the audacity this person had. "You mind running by that me again." A threat that promised retribution._

_One of the women had silver white hair, standing a solid foot over Aiko, the way this woman carried herself had an air of superiority, a challenging aura all around her. Her friend though the same height as Aiko, her hair was a neon blue, the color blinding with the sun shining off of it. She had a calmer demeanor all around her, but something about this woman had Aiko on edge. Her calmness seemed like a facade, one that at any second would crumble in a heartbeat. _

"_Perhaps you did not hear me. I said, keep that THING on its leash, before he hurts anyone around." The woman with silver hair said, rolling her eyes at the stupidity of Aiko before her. _

_Aiko stared wide eyed at the silver haired woman, she was at a complete loss for words. How the hell could someone say such a thing to a child? No less have the gall to REPEAT said insult like it was nothing? How could someone so willingly say anything like this, in public no less? Izuku on the other hand looked down in complete shame. _

_He felt tears welling up at the corners of his eyes, he clutched harder onto his auntie's hand, hoping at that very moment he would just disappear. The commotion itself, causing others around to look out at the scene playing before them. None of them jumped to the aid of Aiko or Izuku, defending them from the two women. If anything some looked like they shared the same sentiment. While others held their breaths, maybe they were just as scared? _

"_If you have a fucking death wish you best get out of my sight in the next five seconds." _

_Izuku looked up from his self wallowing from the sound of his aunts voice. He had never heard her voice reach such a….dark tone, her usual loving and cheerful voice seemed like someone else's at this moment. It frightened him, but he knew deep down his auntie wasn't mad at him, but at the two ladies before him. _

_Both pulled back in alarm, wondering why Aiko was mad at them? If anything that kid she was with was the problem not her. _

"_1." _

_The girl with neon blue hair scoffed and looked Aiko straight in the face, walking up to her and accepting her challenge. _

"_What are you going to do huh? You don't look like much, are you upset we said what everyone around here was thinking?" At this point the woman was right in Aiko's face, their heights keeping each other at perfect eye level. _

"_2." _

_Izuku trembled in fear, cowering behind his aunt holding onto her back thigh. His eyes were shut, and he held his gloved hands to his chest, so hard in fact that Izuku felt his hands tingling. He hated his quirk. It had only brought nothing but trouble for his aunt and mom. He feared for his aunts wellbeing, she was quirkless! How could she ever defend herself from whatever quirk this woman had; and from the way said woman challenged his aunt, it must of been something of power. _

"_3." _

_The blue haired girl smiled wickedly as Aiko continued counting. For a second Aiko saw something flash in the girls eyes, almost like an electrical current whatever it was it did not faze her one bit. _

"_I may be quirkless. But if anyone. And I mean ANYONE. Insults my nephew, my sweet innocent nephew there WILL be hell to pay. 4." Aiko was seething in rage, her body was shaking not in fear but utter anger. She did not care what this woman's quirk was or who she knew. She was going to make sure this woman never insulted others ever again. _

_The blue haired girl finally activated her quirk, breaching the fundamental law all had to follow in public. The woman's eyes enveloped with electricity as she smiled towards Aiko, her eyes giving cracks and sparks. _

"_Pleeeaaaasssseee say 5, Ohhhhhhhhhh! I'm shaking in anticipation." The woman creepily said, the grin on her face getting wider. _

_Izuku tried pulling his aunt away to no avail, he still was not strong enough to move her an inch , or move much of anything for that matter. Aiko stared forward in defiance. Showing no fear to this woman's quirk. __**"She has no way to protect herself!" **__His mind screamed to him. _

"_A-Auntie p-please! No! R-Run a-away!" His little voice sobbed out. Trying in vain to tug her shirt and pull her away. _

_Aiko could not back down now, she made a break to try and push Izuku away from whatever this woman was planning, but before Aiko could regret putting Izuku in danger over her own selfish vendetta, the woman before her suddenly deactivated her quirk. She stared frighteningly behind Aiko, her face paling. The silver haired woman, who stayed silent the whole time through the altercation held a similar face. Before she could find out what in the hell was happening, an all to familiar voice alluded to her on what exactly had the two shaking in their boots. _

"_My My My~. Ms Hino, Ms Endo, dare I ask what exactly I am looking at?" The mysterious person purred. There was only one person who could strike such fear into anyone, especially with such a sultry thicked voice loaded with many different motives. _

_Izuku let out a breath he did not know he was holding. For a second, he felt a sudden draft on his right hand to only look down in horror as he realized in his fit of panic for his aunts safety, he had fully removed the glove off of it. He had not known what exactly he was thinking in that moment, he had subconsciously reacted hoping his quirk would stop the blue haired woman from hurting his auntie. But the fear in knowing he was so willing to use his quirk to harm someone did not help the deep feeling of dread that was slowly filling his soul._

_Aiko turned around to the tall beautiful figure of Midnight, her boss and closest friend. Midnight had a hand to her hip, her whip in the other. Her eyes shone with lust, but Aiko knew that look all too well. Midnight was furious. Her gazed faltered however, as a look of puzzlement replaced it as she tilted her head curiously at Aiko. _

"_Ko-Ko?" Midnight questioned. _

_Aiko waved to her boss. "Hey Nemu." Aiko heard the two women behind her audibly gulp. _

"_K-K-K-K-K-Ko-Ko?" The silver haired women shakingly stuttered. Aiko raised a slight brow at this, forgetting for a moment just a minute ago of what was transpiring between them. _

"_Oh fuck." The blue one plainly said. _

_Midnight started shaking, out of anger, excitement, or a combination of both no one knew, except Aiko of course. __**"I almost feel sorry for these two now."**__ She felt herself wondering. _

"_Ms. Endo." Midnight said, looking to the blue haired one. "Ms. Hino." She said to the latter. "You're both fired and under arrest." The tell tale sound of cars screeching to a halt nearby alerted those watching to the various cop cars that had pulled up onto the scene. _

_As the women were being cuffed and put into a squad car, Aiko finally looked down to her nephew, to be met with an odd sight. Izuku was staring at his right hand, it was trembling slightly. That's when Aiko noticed the red glove missing from said hand. Puzzled she made a move to gently touch his shoulder, only to be met with him retracting back. She tried again, only this time Izuku back pedaled faster, tripping on his feet, only to land on a pair of legs. Without realizing in his panic, he had tried breaking his fall with both his hands, the left one touching the warm pavement below, while his right hand was touching the shoe of the unlucky victim in his fall. Izuku looked up at the shadow that was casting over him, to only be met eye to eye with the R-18 hero. Who at the moment was looking at the boy in wonder. _

_Remembering his right hand was ungloved, and the tingling feeling in his hands signaling to his quirk activating , he immediately retracted it in a panic, at a loss for words as Midnight's knees downward were encased in stone. Izuku shut his eyes in horror, cowering within himself, forgetting for a moment he could simply bring his hands together and the stone would disappear. _

_Aiko immediately rushed over to Izuku pulling him close, as she apologized to Midnight._

"_Nemu! Oh my god! He didn't mean it, I swear! Izuku clap your hands together now!" She pleaded in a panic. _

_Izuku did just that, though never opened his eyes, facing downward in fear of the look Midnight would give me. In fear she would be upset with him, and he would go to jail for using his quirk in public without a hero license. The sound of crumbling alerted him that the shell had fallen off of her, and from the sounds of heels approaching him, he knew she was on her way to handcuff him and take him away. _

_Though that never came as he felt a soft hand reach under his chin. Which then lifted his head up slowly and wiped the tears he did not know he was shedding. _

"_Hey, it's okay sweetie…...was that your quirk?" She asked gently. _

_Aiko looked down in worry, she had never heard her friend speak in such a calm manner, it made her feel at ease knowing Nemuri AKA Midnight was not mad, if anything she seemed sad. _

_Izuku nodded his head slowly, daring not to speak in fear. _

_Midnight looked up to Aiko, mouthing "name?" while tilting her head to the child below. Aiko smiled and mouthed back "Izuku". Midnight had trouble trying to decipher what her friend said, but assumed she said "Izuku". "__**Guess this is the famous nephew she always drones on about? He's so cute…."**__ Midnight thought to herself. _

_With a smile she wiped away the new set of tears. "Izuku can you open your eyes please? I'm not mad at you….please I promise it's okay." She cooed gently hoping it would get the boy to open up. _

_It seemed to work as Izuku slowly opened his watery eyes to be face to face with the pro hero. She had gotten to his eye level, a gentle and loving smile on her face, not the one of fear or anger he thought she would have. Puzzled, Izuku sniffled and rubbed his clogged nose with his arm. By now a few of the cops had dispersed the crowd around from staring too much at the scene before them, while other cops stayed around securing the perimeter. The car carrying the two women had long driven off, on their way to the station. _

_Midnight looked to Izuku's side, noticing one of his red gloves had fallen. Reaching over she picked it up and held it to the boy. _

"_Here. You dropped this love." She smiled again. _

_Izuku blushed slightly, and reached over to take the glove from her hand. Only for Midnight to pull the glove back in childish glee, clutching it to her chest. _

"_Ah Ah Ah! Izuku I have a favor to ask…" Her voice trailing off. _

_Izuku looked on a wonder, his silence giving Midnight the permission to ask. _

"_I will give you your cute red glove back." She held a finger up to his face. "IF! You tell me what your quirk is okay?" The smile she had on her face eased Izuku's little beating heart. _

_"O-O-Okay….anything I t-touch turns into s-stone…and if I b-bring my hands t-t-together it goes a-away..." He plainly described, while looking down at the floor in shame._

_Midnight raised his head back up to face her, the smile never leaving. _

"_Now young man. Hasn't your mother taught you any manners? When a pretty lady is listening you should always look at her not at the ground silly." She jokingly scolded. _

_Izuku blushed harder at the light teasing, though a small smile curved his lips at the gentleness of the pro hero before him. _

_Midnight reached again to give him his glove only to pull it away once more, a playful sparkle in her eyes. _

"_Sorry Izuku I couldn't help it you're just so cute!" She squeaked out._

_Izuku hid his face with his hands in embarrassment. _

"_Before I give this back to you, I have one last teensy-weensy favor to ask." She looked to him with big puppy eyes. It made him slightly uncomfortable such a women had eyes like this._

_Reaching into a side pocket of her suit, she pulled out a small rose flower pin. Something she kept on her person since she became a pro hero. It held unknown sentimental value to the woman, but what she had planned would only increase that value. _

"_You see this pin here Izuku?" _

_Izuku nodded his head slowly, wondering what exactly she was getting at. _

"_My favor is this, could you use your quirk on this for me pretty please! Ohh you'll be my hero!" Midnight dreamily said. _

_Izuku looked towards the hero in shock, his face a now solid red. Aiko had looked at the exchange in silence, knowing exactly the game Midnight was playing at. Frankly she was grateful for the woman's soft spot for young children, and since it was her little Izuku it made that gratefulness all the better. _

"_W-Why?" Izuku finally spoke out._

_Midnight tilted her head as the small boy finally spoke for the first time. He sounded so frail and sad, she wondered if there was something deeply rooted in his noticeable fear in his quirk. _

"_Why? Well it's simple hun." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. _

_Izuku looked up at her expectantly. _

"_I think your quirk is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen." _

_Izuku froze. No one outside of his family had ever said such a thing about his quirk; and here was a pro hero, one who knew the true definition of beauty, saying his quirk was beautiful? It confused him so much that his face scrunched up at the notion. Aiko felt tears slowly threatening to come out of her eyes. Her close friend Nemuri was a saint. A saint who deserved all the praise she needed for her hero work. Aiko would have cried if it was not for what Izuku said next. _

"_I think it's u-ugly…." Again his voice sounded so torn. _

_Midnight persevered. "Why do you think it's ugly Izuku?"_

_Izuku gulped. "It hurt my m-mom when I first got it, and only v-villains hurt p-people…" He took a deep breath. "Plus when t-those mean l-ladies we're going t-to hurt auntie I w-wanted to hurt th-them with my q-quirk…"_

_Aiko gasped as he said this, holding a hand to her mouth in shock. It all made sense to Midnight now, why he had a fear of his quirk. Though she would not know what exactly happened as of now, she could only assume it must have been a….troubling experience for the young boy and his mother. Not to mention what he said about wanting to hurt Endo and Hino…worried her immensely. _

"_Izuku do you know what my quirk is?" _

_At Midnights question he shook his head, his usual glee at learning of a new quirk not there as the seriousness of the topic at hand shook him to his tiny core. _

"_To put it simply it puts people to sleep almost instantly depending on various factors, but we will talk about those another day." She shook her hand as if to signal to drop it. "Anyways, it's kind of like how your quirk turns things to stone depending on how long you touch something right?" _

_Izuku nodded slowly. _

"_Well just like your quirk could be used for evil, so could mine." _

_Izuku stared in shock, how could a pro hero like her ever be a villain? The thought seemed almost impossible that Izuku tried in vain to say something, only for sputters to come out instead. _

"_You see Izuku any quirk could be used for evil. There are area of effect ones like we have." She pointed to one another. "Mine could put almost everyone in this area to sleep instantly. While yours would only be able to work on one person at a time right?" _

_Izuku blinked owlishly at her._

_Midnight smiled. "So tell me you have a villainous quirk again, when as of now mine would be the most destructive to everyone here." _

_Izuku's little mind went into overdrive. Everything Midnight was saying made complete sense. His quirk could only 'hurt' one person at a time, while hers could hurt many as long as they were within range. Izuku felt his smile slowly returning. _

"_Now I'll ask again sweetie. Can you use that beautiful quirk of yours, on this pin please?" _

_Izuku nodded his head and slowly reached over, barely grazing the cold feeling of the pin with his index finger, a small pain quivered from his palm. Immediately the pin was encased in stone, highlighting the accents of the rose petals beautifully. It looked like it was carved out of solid rock. _

_Midnights eyes shone with true wonder. "Beautiful." She looked right into the boys eyes. "Izuku never forget how much joy your quirk will bring others, and how many lives you will save when you are a hero okay?" _

_Izuku felt his tears return as he heard the one thing he had wished for since his fourth birthday. Praise from a pro hero, one who just like him could relate to his struggle with his quirk. It was different when family said it, but when it came from complete stranger, a pro hero at that, it rid that feeling of dread all together. _

"_Never use your quirk in anger or malice Izuku, I know you will do better from here on out. Thanks for being honest about wanting to harm those ladies, it takes a true hero to admit their faults, and grow from them." _

_That's what broke the metaphorical dam in his eyes, immediately the little nine year old boy cried like a newborn infant. Aiko pulled Izuku into a hug, holding him tightly as he cried his sorrows and soul out. _

"_From the wise words of your aunt Izuku, do not fret over those who fear the unknown." At this Midnight put the pin back in her pocket, patting it to ensure it stayed put. _

_Midnight thought about teasing the boy about being so bold to give her such a gift, but she decided against it though as the boy was already a crying mess as it was. __**"I'll just tease him about it another time, I mean he's Ko-Ko's nephew! I wonder why I never had the chance to meet him before?" **__Though with her getting a recent job teaching at U.A, she wondered when she was going to let her staff know the agency would be disbanded soon. She knew they would all understand, but felt terrible putting so many out of work. She would make sure to put out the good word to all other agencies about the amazing staff. Speaking of staff...Endo and Hino, she had just hired them last night! She felt a headache coming on, __**"Well I guess I have to head on down to the station to make a report now." **__Before she walked away however she looked to her friend consoling the small boy, a smile spreading once more on her face. __**"Oh I know I'll definitely see you again Izuku, and I know for a fact one of those places will be at U.A., when you're older." **__Though one last thought entered her head as she approached the chief, who had been waiting patiently by his car for sometime now. That thought sounded so poetic, and she knew it would forever stick to her. __**"When my legs were encased by the stone I felt no fear, I felt the warmth of an embrace."**_

()

This was one of Izuku's most cherished memories, something he thought back to on most nights just like this. Something that he would think about from time to time, but namely on his birthday. After their birthday dinner of Katsudon, Izuku had excused himself to try and sleep earlier than he normally did. Inko of course smiled, knowing today they had been on their feet for the better part of the day so he must have been exhausted. When Izuku walked into his room, Inko let out a tired but loving sigh.

She loved her boy so much, she knew he was still troubled by many things, namely his fourth birthday, but she knew deep in her heart her boy would be fine one day. Inko would be eternally grateful to the pro hero Midnight for what she did for her son that year ago, when Aiko had told her about it, Inko cried in her sisters arms blessing the hero's name. She knew it was what Izuku needed to hear, and even though Izuku would still act glum, the effect it had on him was profound. So much so, he had halved his collection of All Might figurines, and gotten Midnight ones instead. It was adorable to say the least, and it showed new admiration and goals in the young boys mind. It was always the day of Izuku's birthday that Inko would think of the impact Midnight made on her son, an impact that will be beneficial in the long run. And as a mother she could not be ever more grateful.

Izkuku laid in his bed, clutching a Midnight action figure in his is hand, he never held things with two hands, a subconscious thing he made sure to follow. Though he wondered why? The figure had encased itself in stone from his naked touch, but Izuku for some reason could see the slight beauty in his quirk. It really did look like an art piece, he brushed his hands along the rough texture of the toy. He wondered what the feeling of anything felt like anymore. He could feel texture through his gloves, but when it came to bare contact it was a different story. He still missed the warm embrace of his mothers hand. He felt himself slowly dozing off, he set the figure on his chest, clasped his hands together, and put his gloves on. It was interesting to see that when it came to small objects, the crumbling was still their but with no visible debris, but when it came to larger objects the aftermath of the stones remained. Izuku felt darkness slowly take over him, feeling at peace for just the moment.

_One Year Later_

Izuku can not really tell you when or where it happened, but let us just say these last few months have been hell for the boy.

Katsuki had taken it upon himself to ensure Deku would not fall behind any longer. How could he let his best friend become so pathetic? Katsuki was angry with how weak and frail Izuku was, namely how his arms were noodles, his legs were strings, and his ribs would show through his shirt! Katsuki was no body builder, nor was he muscular by any means, but for an eleven year old, he was fit to where he could carry his own. Especially when it came to practicing his quirk, he was leagues ahead of Izuku.

Though Katuski believed Izuku's quirk was amazing like his, he knew his friend had always been troubled by his quirk. He knew what happened on his fourth birthday when he had eavesdropped on his mother when she was on the phone with the nerds mom, or auntie Inko he would rather say. Even then, Katuski was furious at the thought that his friend was stopping his own potential; and since they were alone at the moment, Katsuki could swear up a storm all he wanted.

"Shitty Deku! This is only a mile run!" Katuski snarled out, though it was out of annoyance.

Izuku was barely hanging on, they were about to reach the mile drop off point, but no matter how much Izuku pushed himself these last few months, he felt himself falling behind. Though Katsuki noticed the improvement his friend had made that was for sure. Before Izuku could barely make it five minutes into the run, collapsing into a heap on the floor. Now he could make it to the end, and then collapse into a heap on the floor.

"Improvement at least." Katsuki grumbled to himself. Katsuki loved his best friend, but boy did he piss him the fuck off. He felt like an older brother to Izuku, taking on the role in keeping him in place, especially with the absence of his father. Now Katsuki was no father figure, on the contrary, he only offered Izuku the companionship of a male, something Izuku greatly lacked at home. It also didn't help that at school rarely anyone talked to the two since Katsuki had an attitude problem with others...though he would never admit it.

_With the goal in sight, Izuku gave his last push before making it to a tree they had labeled the marker. Katsuki stood tall and barely winded as he let his friend catch his breath. Izuku on the other hand was wheezing and gasping for air like his life depended on it. Although, he surprisingly did not collapse on the floor today, this time holding himself up with his hands on his knees. _

"_K-Kacchan, ohhh everything h-hurts." Izuku whined. _

"_Shut it nerd! We still have to run back home don't forget that." Katuski said with a roll of his eyes. _

"Oh crap that's right…" Izuku groaned back.

"Don't worry though. That's not till two hours from now." Katsuki said while roughly patting his friends back in comfort.

That still didn't make Izuku feel any better that was for sure.

"Well anyways, we made it to our secret base to practice off our quirks." Katsuki grinned wildly, sparks flaring from his palms.

Their secret base happened to be in a very secluded section of the Dagobah Municipal Beach. A once beautiful paradise now filled to the brim in trash, and it was growing by the weeks. This place rarely had anyone come by anymore, so it was rare anyone heard the two quirks going off. More so the destructive power that was Katsuki's.

"Remember Deku, practice practice practice. If you need me, hopefully not, I'll be over their by that bundle of fridges." A fierce spark emanating from his eyes.

Izuku turned away from his friend. Walking towards a nearby dresser. Over the years he discovered many things about his quirk. The most notable one was how various objects he unsolidified effected his stamina reserves. The bigger the object, the more it would drain out of him. His newest analysis was on this dresser that towered over him. With care, Izuku placed his gloves on a nearby broken chair, the bright blue color alluding to where it was against the dilapidated object.

Izuku started with what he always did, timing how long it took each finger to surround the dresser in stone. Compared to the apple, the numbers were different. The dresser was of average size, with four different pullout drawers barely hanging onto the frame. It's body was made of wood, and the natural deterioration had taken its toll.

For his pinkie, it took twenty seconds for the dresser to be surrounded. His ring and middle finger took roughly twenty seven seconds. His thumb being the slowest of the bunch still, took around thirty seconds, and as always with his index finger the dresser was enveloped completely almost instantaneously. Izuku gasped in pain however, whenever he just used this finger, he always felt the amount of stamina used, the familiar sting in his palm. Since he had only gone this big of an object with this finger, he feared what it would do to his body if he tried anything bigger.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" Shouted a voice behind him.

Izuku smiled to himself, Kacchan was always striving to improve his quirk, preparing himself for U.A., no matter the colorful language he used, Katsuki really wanted to be a hero, and number one no less.

Izuku's dream school was U.A. as well, something that Katsuki was glad about, though he did warn him not to slack off, making sure all the "extras and rejects" did not get ahead of either of them. Which is why Katsuki brought him along on to join him in his training, which Izuku was grateful for.

Izuku did not like practicing his quirk at home around his mom, a deep set fear that still had not gone away. He knew it hurt his mother, as usually it was a bonding time between parent and child, but nevertheless Inko was happy knowing he was with Katsuki practicing and not alone anymore. Izuku however did feel more comfortable whenever his father was around, that he was willing to use his quirk with his mother when he was home. Both Hisashi and Inko noticed this, and had recently been talking about taking Izuku to a psychologist. Something Inko feared because none of this would have been happening if she just didn't let her fear get to her in that moment when she was frozen solid.

Izuku broke his quirk away from the dresser and moved onto some of the larger pieces of trash on the beach. He saw the usual abandoned sedan parked by a couple of old computers that he usually went to, which he did again.

Izuku this time placed variations of two fingers at a time on the vehicle, resulting in many different times and speeds in which the car became a solid rock. Interestingly enough, one would think the fastest time would be his pinky and index finger pressed up against the vehicle, but the true pair was his middle finger and index finger. Though his middle finger touched the car, as his index couldn't due to the height differences of the appendages, just having them side by side of each other resulted in the entire vehicle being covered in five seconds. Though not as painful as his index finger alone, if he held the two fingers long enough his hand would tingle with numbness.

Though he could have easily laxed his fingers a bit, and have both the fingers touch the vehicle, he found the tips of his fingers themselves was where the power of his quirk came from. He had theorized that with other fingers connected together like this he could use it as a form of attack against villains….though as of now he was focusing on the principles his quirk dished out.

Once breaking the car from its prison once more, Izuku placed his entire hand flat on the vehicle, the usual tingling sensation taking over as the vehicle was covered in two seconds. He found it interesting how when it came to just simple lifeless objects like these, they were covered in seconds. Yet, in examples like his mom and Midnight, the process was a bit slower, though not by much. He remembered his hand was on Midnight for roughly five seconds, but only from her knees down were stoned over. The vehicle on the other hand was surrounded in two seconds.

Izuku heard the explosions off in the distance stop. It was time, not to go back home, but for Izuku to try and convince himself to pass one of the toughest hurdles he made for himself. It wasn't one to achieve a goal, it was one to prevent it. He knew Katsuki was watching him from behind, wondering if today would be the day the nerd would finally do it.

Izuku had neglected one aspect of his training for the last few months, and that was putting both his hands face down on the vehicle. When he was smaller and did it for the quirk doctor nothing of interest came out of it, but something screamed within Izuku that what he was about to see, he would not like one bit.

"Well?" His friend asked.

Izuku looked at his hands, trying to understand why this mental hurdle was in the way in the first place. It had one day just appeared in his mind when he was eight, and ever since then he had kept both hands from touching anything ever. Even with his gloves on Izuku had a bad habit of picking up large heavy things with one hand, before realizing it was safe with his gloves on.

Izuku felt his legs shake beneath him, he knew he had to do this, he knew this was holding him back, he knew once he conquered this fear he could move on to other parts of his quirk training. It was this fear that chained him, a fear of the unknown and what would happen.

"Izuku come on. Do it. You know you need too" His friend egged on from behind.

Taking a breath Izuku willed his nerves and took a tentative step towards the car. Katsuki rose a brow at this, **"No shit, he's really gonna do it, about fucking time." **Katsuki wondered to himself, this was the nerds largest 'roadblock', and Katsuki knew for a fact once he realized he had nothing to fear everything would be fi-.

Before Katsuki could finish his musings, Izuku placed his hands at the same time, on the hood of the vehicle. The way Katsuki's eyes bulged out of his eye sockets looked comical, but the sight before him was anything but funny. Almost instantly, and with a splitting crack, the vehicle turned solid, snapping straight down the middle in an ugly scar that was jagged and deformed.

Izuku stood still, his mind numb, his hands were still held in place, but they were no longer touching the car as the split had separated them from their original position. Izuku wondered if that crack he heard was the last hope he had for his quirk, or was the vehicle splitting in two, it sounded the same to him.

Slowly Katsuki reached a hand over laying it gently on Izuku's shoulder. "Hey Deku, let's walk home today yeah?" Katsuki knew the seriousness of the moment.

Izuku nodded his head weakly, picking up his gloves and slipping them on instantly. The walk home was quiet and devoid of any words, Izuku was not thinking however, he was numb. His whole body felt numb, and he felt like a husk that was just tugging along. He did not turn around to say bye to his best friend as he made it home. He did not adhere to the calls of his mom as he entered the house, going straight to his room. He did not hear her call worryingly as she peaked in his room wondering what was wrong. Izuku could not hear a sound, only the ear splitting crack playing on repeat in his mind, maybe it really was the last part of his sanity he had left? Funny to think at eleven years old, Izuku had dealt with so much, he bottled up everything as best he could. He did not want to worry his mother or aunts anymore. He thought he was okay, especially with the kind words Midnight told him, but Izuku at this very moment, felt empty. Izuku had grumbled something out.

"I-Izuku? I'm sorry didn't catch that can you say it one more time?" Inko did not like the way his voice sounded, not one bit.

With the same weak and hollow voice Izuku asked again. "How can I ever be a hero, when all I see is in grey?"

_One week later_

Izuku had been quiet the last few days, refusing to explain to Inko what was troubling him. She had called Hisashi in tears not knowing what to do anymore, she had been stress eating these last few years, and she had gained some noticeable weight. It made her feel ugly, but she knew she had to be there for her son, but he was not making it easy for her. Hisashi's heart was torn in two, cursing at himself for not being with his family in their time of need, his last visit was just over three weeks ago, for Izuku's eleventh birthday, and he wondered what could have gone wrong in that short span of a time? Whatever the case Hisashi had received the greatest news he could have ever hoped for. Though it was just rumors, word around the office was a sub-part of the agency he worked for would open up in Japan, coincidentally only twenty minutes out from his family. He had not told Inko yet as it was just rumors, but with how everything was back at home, he prayed it would be true.

Though the stress was eating away at Inko, she had to be strong, especially with where she was taking Izuku right now. Izuku was overdue on what exactly he wanted to name his quirk, he needed to be entered properly into the registry like everyone else. The absolute maximum age that someone had to be entered into the registry was eleven, and they had waited at the last moment on the sole fact that Izuku had not come up with a name. Though he had to think of one quick as they entered parked outside the building; if not by law the doctor would have to give the name for the quirk, taking away the uniqueness.

As they entered the building all around the waiting room were many parents with their kids, many were young, jumping with joy as their quirks manifested. It was a beautiful sight to see that was for sure, so many young and aspiring heroes. Izuku stood behind his mom as she checked them in, they would be let in next by appointment. As they took their seats, Izuku failed to realize a pair of eyes following him all the way from when he came into the waiting room, and all the way till he sat down. Inko noticed the strange look this girl was giving their way but paid it no mind, maybe she was just curious? **"Though she looks so familiar..." **Inko thought to herself.

Setsuna could not put her finger on it, but she felt like that moppy green haired boy, and woman looked familiar, the woman looked big, and carried herself with heavy shoulders. She looked like she was going through stress. As for the boy she could not figure what it was about the plain looking boy the peaked her interest so much. His hair was green like hers, he had four freckles on each cheek, but his beautiful green eyes lacked the color she knew should of been there. She subconsciously scratched the scar on her knee, it throbbing in pain all of a sudden.

Setsuna's quirk was a sight to behold, she could split her body into multiple pieces, at the moment it her maximum was ten, and if an organ was contained in that piece, it could act in it's own free will. She still had a long way to go before she mastered all there was to it, but she had basically set herself up for success with her parents help. Her plan was to get into U.A on recommendation, no small feat that was for sure.

But the oddest thing about her quirk was she could regenerate her body parts back if something were to happen to one, but when it came to scars on her skin, namely her knee, when said appendage came or grew back, the scar would remain. Though Setsuna was glad it was this way, she liked the scar it reminded her of that boy….

For the life of her, she could not remember the boys first name, barely remembering his last name had an 'M' in it, not even her parents could remember which was disheartening. She chastised herself for forgetting her first ever hero who saved her, and every time she would go to that park near where she lived, she'd go to the same tree hoping to see that boy again.

Setsuna was deep in thought, so deep that she did not hear when Izuku Midoriya and Inko Midoriya we're called out by a nurse, she did not look up from thoughts till she noticed that the strange duo was now gone. **"Something about them. That boy...UGH! What about him has me so confused?"** Setsuna felt herself looking solemnly in the direction she assumed they went, that being the doctors office. Whoever they were it was to late, as she noticed her mother coming out of the bathroom nearby.

"Sorry Setsuna, let's get out of here yeah? How about some ice cream?!" Asako asked with glee.

Though she stopped when she noticed Setsuna's face was scrunched up, making her think her daughter was against the idea.

"Honey, does ice cream sound that bad?" Asako said.

Shaking her head, Setsuna rid her of thoughts for now, she looked up to her mom with a smile.

"No it sounds great actually! Sorry mom, there was this weird boy and woman when you were in the bathroom, they looked familiar…" she trailed off, a gleam of mischief in her eye. "...but I can't seem to put my finger on it." Setsuna said, while jokingly removing a finger from her hand.

Her mother rolled her eyes at this, her daughter was just like her father, already getting under her skin.

"Oh you silly girl, come on." Asako chuckled aloud.

As they made their way towards the exit Setsuna looked back one last time, hoping that the boy would walk out in that second, though nothing ever came of it, and she followed her mom out the door. **"Who are you? And why were you wearing blue gloves?"**

_Doctors Office_

"Hey champ! How's my favorite patient doing today?" The doctor inquired with a smile.

Izuku gave no response only giving a small forced small at the man.

"Hello Dr. Funai, thanks for seeing us." Inko said with a bow, Izuku giving a small one in return.

Dr. Funai laughed at the display, but carried on. "So Izuku are the gloves your wearing up to speed? Feel like you need to get a size up yet?"

Izuku shook his head no, leading the doctor into the more important question he had yet to say.

"Great! Now Izuku today's the last day. Have you found out what you have decided to name your quirk?"

Izuku nodded his head in confirmation, reaching into his left pocket to pull out a small piece of paper. Holding it out to him, the doctor curiously took it. Inside was a two letter word, a word that implied many things good and bad. The doctor stared at the word in wonder, wondering how such a young boy knew who a Greek mythological gorgon was, better yet such a notorious one at that. He looked to the boy, who held a stoic face, his face hard, but his hands trembling. Dr. Funai looked towards Inko and offered her a week nod, letting her know he would allow the quirk name, Izuku saw the nod as well and gulped. The paper read as follows:

Medusa's Embrace.

_Have a wonderful day, afternoon, or night._


	4. Chapter 4

_After several __renditions and many ways I wanted to take this chapter, I finally wrote one that just flowed every way I wanted. As always. Enjoy._

Grey Scale

_6 Months Later_

_Inko Midoriya was on her way to pick up a special package. Said special package weighed approximately one hundred and ninety six pounds, it stood at 6'3, with a quirk that allowed said package to breath fire. Though not as strong as one would imagine a quirk could be, Hisashi Midoriya _stood in front of the air port with four suitcases, mainly clothes, but two had been of various things the man had acquired during his time in America. Stuff for Izuku and his wife, who one of which was on their way to pick him up, and bring him home for good.

Hisashi's boss had given the okay two months beforehand on a new sister location being confirmed for Japan. Hisashi immediately jumped on it, being one of the few who applied for the position. Where he worked at it was roughly eighty five percent Americans, and the last fifteen percent was a mixture of others from various parts of the world. Hisashi was the only man from japan, and to the surprise of none, he was the first in line to apply back in his homeland. Hisashi loved America, it was so different from japan in every way, but he needed to be home.

"Wow you not kidding Hisashi, Japan Pretty!" Exclaimed an odd foreign sounding voice.

Hisashi chuckled at the sound. "You know David, you need to practice on your Japanese more."

"*tsskk* You shouldn't talking, your English bad." His friend retorted in jest.

David Tsunotori was his closest friend in America, the man who showed Hisashi the ropes and all there was to the country. Surprisingly, he had jumped at the chance to come to Japan for his daughter. Though it was still too early to tell, she showed extreme promise in her native country, ranking number one in her middle school was no small feat in America, especially when one of the top schools in all of the world was located in Japan, which allowed foreign transfers.

Hisashi laughed, though for his friends sake he switched over to English, to communicate better. "_Well it was bad when I was first there idiot, but don't worry just like you helped me in America, I'll make sure you aren't lost here in Japan, who knows maybe you'll find yourself a cute native eh?" _

David gave a hearty laugh at this, smacking his knees as he did so. "_BAHAHAH! Oh Pony would not like that one bit Hisashi. Though I split on good terms with her mom, she still loves her mom with all her heart." _

Hisashi rolled his eyes at this, "_Doesn't mean you have to stay single and alone forever, plus she loves you just the same." _

David gave a small sad smile at this. "_Yeah, you're right Hisashi, but if that does happen it will happen._" David embraced his long time friend. "_ I appreciate the help though. Don't worry about me for now I'll be fine, your family misses you I bet." _With that they said their goodbyes for now as David called out to a taxi, in poor Japanese no less.

That's when he was alerted to the sound of a car honk besides him, and saw his wife pulling up with a smile. Hisashi gave the biggest smile he had in years, he carried over his entourage of luggage heading straight for the vehicle.

His wife had gotten out of the car, heading straight towards the tall man. It was always a funny sight to see, their height difference was immense, but Hisashi adored, no _worshiped_, his wife. She was the strongest woman he had ever met, and he had the honor to call her his wife.

They embraced, tears welling up in each other's eyes, it had been a long eleven years that was for sure, but the love they had for each other during their time apart grew stronger. Then they kissed, a long drawn out kiss that screamed longing, happiness, sadness, lust, a plethora of emotions to name a few, but the strongest and prevalent of them all was the simplest one: Love.

"You're home."

Hisashi felt himself choke at his wife's words. It wasn't the usual 'you're home' he'd get when he would come and visit. He always saw the sadness in her and Izuku's eyes when they would say the same thing. No this time these words carried a heavier and deeper meaning. He was home, and he was not leaving ever again. That's when he felt a dense aura.

"You can never leave again. I'm gonna be selfish and say this once and only once. You can never leave again, not for Izuku's sake, but for _mine_."

He felt a strong tug on the collar of his shirt, knowing it was his wife using her quirk on him, tugging to emphasize her point. The tug had brought him to her eye level as she leaned forward, Hisashi felt a chill run down his spine, as Inko blew hotly by his ear. Hisashi gulped but chuckled none the less.

"I'm never leaving Izuku's, or _your _side again. Never again."

* * *

Izuku could not be there with his mother to pick up his dad for he did not know. The two parents had decided to keep it a surprise from the boy; Inko had told him she was going to run some errands in town before she had left. He had wanted to go, but the way she sweated and denied his wanting to come made him a bit suspicious. Though he figured she just wanted time to herself for awhile, which he could not blame her for. **"Everyone needs their alone time"** He chuckled to himself. If anything he had only wanted to go to keep his mom company, he loved being around her she had been his safety net for all these years, even with the darkness that dwelled in his heart, Izuku cherished any and all the time he spent with her. Especially with his dad being in America, he felt he had bigger shoes to fill as he grew older.

Though he was in his room right now just lazing about, he heard the click of his front door alerting him to someone coming in.

"Must be mom?" He said to himself as he made way for his bedroom door.

Confirming his suspicions as he heard the laughter of his mother; but it was followed by a deep chuckle from another source, one he recognized immediately. With speed that would make any speedster hero jealous, he opened his door nearly ripping it off its hinges shooting straight down the hall.

Hisashi barely had time to think before he felt something collide with his side, he knew who it was and smiled down to his son.

"Dad, you're home." Izuku cried out.

Hisashi heard the way he said it, and it sounded like it always did, happiness for a moment, but then give some time he would have to leave for work again. Hisashi felt tears come anew as he got on his knees and pulled his son into a deeper hug, smothering him into his chest.

"No Izuku. _I am home_."

Izuku had waited for those words for the better part of seven years. The way his father said it alerted him to the fact that his father was home, not for a week, not for two or three; no he was home for good. Izuku wailed to the heavens as he clutched his father harder. Inko joined in on the hug, hugging Izuku from behind as he was squished between both of his parents. They were finally whole again, the Midoriyas were together at long last; and it was not going to be for a fleeting moment.

Time seemed to stand still as the three hugged each other. Though they parted, it was merely for the fact that there were no more tears to shed, Inko however had a different reason for doing so.

"So what shall be for dinner tonight boys?" Inko felt a warmth in her heart, she could finally say that confidently knowing that her husband was here to stay.

She knew exactly what they wanted; she made way to the kitchen already grabbing the ingredients she would need.

"Katsudon!" "Katsudon!" Both voices harmoniously said.

Father and son looked at each other before grinning and giving each other a high five.

Inko sighed lovingly at the two. "Well I better get started then."

"Love I'll join you right now, let me just give Izuku some stuff."

Izuku's eyes shone with anticipation.

Reaching over, Hisashi grabbed one of his suitcases, holding it before Izuku.

"BEHOLD KINDLY KING, I HAVE BROUGHT THEE GIFTS THAT I HOPE EARNS THY GRACE!"

Izuku laughed at his father. "Nay, anything you bring I'm sure will earn as such." Copying the same phrasing as his father.

A click and a pop, the suitcase opened revealing the contents inside. Within were various All Might figurines, from Golden Age to New Age, it made Izuku's mouth water. But what really caught his attention was the fact that there was also Midnight figures as well. Izuku screamed with joy.

"Dad! Thank you so much!" He exclaimed while once again almost barreling his father over.

With a *oof*, Hisashi ruffled Izuku's long messy green hair.

"Hehe I'm glad you like them son, now if you will excuse me, I'm going to help mom with dinner."

Izuku smiled as he gave one last squeeze in the hug. He returned to the suitcase and carried it over to his room; something he would of not been able to do if it were not for Kacchans training that was for sure. He laid the suitcase on his bed, looking at the figures closer. They were like all the others he had, at this point his room looked like a shrine for the two heroes, one side was All Might, the other Midnight. Though Midnight has left the hero scene somewhat in favor of teaching at U.A, he could not help but admire her more. She's teaching the new generation of heroes, something that was very admirable in his eyes.

All might himself had kind of gone off the radar, showing up now and then on the Hero News, many wondered if it was old age setting in, or personal matters. Whatever the case, Izuku still adored the number one hero, especially Kacchan. Carefully, Izuku set the figures about his room to their respective halves, admiring each collectible as he set them in place. The glove color choice of today was back. Ever since he named his quirk, he had stopped the childish colors he used to once love, simply going back to the neutral tones like grey or as of now black.

He heard a slight knock on his open door, turning to see his father standing in the open door way.

"Son you got a minute?" He inquired.

Izuku gave a nod, for his dad he always had time.

"Sit. Izuku lets have a quick chat as mom finishes up."

Izuku did just that, sitting on his bed as Hisashi moved the suitcase over, taking its place.

Though it hurt Hisashi to talk about such a thing, no less than the same day of his arrival, he felt it was better to get it out in the open, and see where he would go from there. Now that he was here to stay, he could effectively help his son out of the slump he had been in for a long while.

"Izuku, I know I've been gone for so long, and I could only come and visit now and then." He turned to his son.

Izuku looked up at his dads eyes, they had the same green his own had, something his mom would always dot on about, yet his mother had the same color. If anything it was a combination of both the parents that made Izuku's shine so bright. However, that color had faded, and it worried Inko and Hisashi greatly.

"I tried my best to help you figure it out, but it was hard since I was gone almost all the time, I have not told mom per your asking, though you and I both know she knows son."

Izuku gulped, knowing exactly what he was referring too.

"Do you still see that face Izuku?" Hisashi gently let out.

Izuku stared at the ground, giving a small nod. Hisashi had known about Izukus feelings on his quirk, as the two would confide in each other on their phone calls. Izuku would tell him of all his worries, doubts, and mistakes that he felt his father should know about. Hisashi's heart always broke at the way his son talked about himself in such a light, namely his quirk. Though not much could be done on phone calls, his small visits could barely touch upon anything also. Now that he was here in Japan for the long run again, things were going to a lot different.

"I feared as much, son I'm sorry I was never here as I should of been, for you and your mother…" Hisashi trailed off.

Izuku was about to jump in his defense, knowing what his father did was for the benefit of them both. He knew his father had to do what he did! To make sure they lived happy lives here at home. However, a finger was held up to lips before he could retort.

"Sorry son, let me finish okay?"

Izuku stayed silent, staring up at his father once more.

"You've confided in me these last seven years, telling me all your troubles, but now it is going to be different. You can now tell me in person, and no matter what I WILL be here for you son. This time I'm not leaving like had to for work." Hisashi took a breath. "In about a week we are going to see an old friend of mine, one I haven't seen in years, but one I know for a fact will help you mentally and physically in the long run okay?"

Izuku took this as his time to speak. "Erm, sure dad of course. I'm just happy you're home now…"

Hisashi gave his boy a one armed hug once more, chuckling slightly.

"Don't tell your mom yet though, if she knew who were going to be seeing, she'd have my hide; and she'd be worried for your sake hehe."

Izuku gulped at this, "uhh dad, just who are you taking me too..?"

Hisashi stood up stretching a bit, the tension from their conversation gone from his shoulders.

"Like I said, son an old friend." With that he ruffled his hair. "Now come on, I'm sure the Katsudon is ready by now!"

Izuku jumped out of his bed at this, forgetting for a moment on what they talked about earlier.

"Oh yeah! Sorry dad I'm getting served first!" Izuku said his voice trailing off down the hallway.

Hisashi shook his head, chuckling to himself once more. Before he left to join his family in the kitchen, he gave pause and looked at his sons room He remember hearing about what had happened with Midnight when he was nine, and how the boys outlook on life and his quirk had changed. Though his son was still in the same slump, he knew with what he had in mind, it would be a much needed change of pace for Izuku. **"Hopefully that loveable asshole still remember me" **He thought to himself.

As he closed the door, he gave one of the Midnight figures one last look, this one had her leaning on her right leg, whip in her left hand ready to strike.

"I need to thank her, one way or another she saved a part of Izuku that day." He said to himself.

* * *

"Well, I'll be a son of a bitch. Hisashi Midoriya you're alive." The large figure of a man quipped.

Hisashi scratched his head at this, a nervous laugh coming out of him. "Hell I could almost say the same for you, Hideki Kendo."

The large burly man let out hollers at Hisashi's retort. "Well the timing couldn't of been anymore convenient you dick."

Hisashi brought Izuku to a special place. A place that would housed unspeakable horrors that would hopefully mold Izuku into a man. Izuku at first was amazed at the classic Japanese looking dojo, and upon entering he was amazed at the constant grunts of "HIYAH!" and as he will later come to learn, various 'Kiai words'. He stared on in wonder as many people in white training outfits performed stretches, grappled, and fought against each other. To his eleven year old eyes he was amazed, and he could just feel the energy emanating from the place. However, when they had met up with his father's old friend, Izuku was intimidated by the pure muscle and size of this man. He screamed strength, and if he had to guess those muscles were not for show.

"Convenient? What do you mean?" Hisashi questioned.

Hideki scoffed at his old friend. "Oh don't give me that shit, this your son?"

Hisashi nodded as Izuku felt a cold sweat come over him. The man was looking him over, judging every angle and crevice that was Izuku's face, and physique. Hideki gave a *hrmph*.

Suddenly he called out to someone. "ITSUKA! Come her love!"

Wondering whatever the man was doing, Hisashi looked towards the sounds of approaching feet on the wood floor of the dojo.

A girl about the age of Izuku stood before them bowing in front of her father, though a blush and annoyed features graced her face. She had orange hair that went a little pass her shoulders, it lay free as a gleam of sweat shone on her forehead. Her eyes were a deep teal color, and she stood a bit taller than Izuku.

"D-Dad! Your embarrassing me in front of others!" Itsuka groaned, looking behind her as she heard snickers from her fellow dojo colleagues.

"**Dad?"** Hisashi thought to himself, he wondered why this brought back memories from his college days….

_OH SHIT _

Hisashi tried his best to keep his laughter in check, but he soon broke out into full laughter, confusing Izuku and Itsuka, while Hideki grew a smile as well.

"Sorry love, but this is important."

Itsuka raised a brow at this, but walked up to her father. Giving a glance to the strange boy with black gloves on sitting next to a taller man.

"Itsuka I'd like you to meet your future husband!" The dojo grew deathly quiet, Itsuka's face grew red hot as she looked on incredulously at her father, her mouth open in shock. "Izuku Midoriya this is your future wife, Itsuka Kendo!" Izuku nearly fainted, what the hell was going on!?

Hisashi and Hideki were soon howling in laughter leaning on each other as they wiped their own tears from their eyes. The dojo goers looked on in confusion, wondering if they should clap for the matrimony that would eventually come, but Itsuka and Izuku were mortified. Not looking at each other one bit.

Soon the laughter of the two men died down Hisashi being the first one to speak.

"Holy shit Hideki! I forgotten about that bet we made so long ago!" Hisashi wheezed, barely coming out of his laughing fit.

"Damn it's been what fifteen years and you forgot already? Where's your shame Hisashi?" Hideki laughed back.

Itsuka's face grew redder as she puffed out her cheeks, stomping her foot on the ground.

"D-Dad! What are y-you talking a-about! I don't want to g-get m-married!"

Hideki raised a hand hoping to quell his daughters anger, while Hisashi rubbed circles on Izuku's back, who seemed to be on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Ahh sorry kid, just a joke between my friend and I here from long ago." Hideki reaffirmed.

Itsuka scoffed, crossing her arms together looking to the side. The dojo soon returned to its normal clammer of grunts.

"Relax Itsuka, you need not worry." Hideki turned from his daughter. "However I do wonder why you have finally reached out to me again Hisashi."

Hisashi gave a sad smile at this, looking at his son. "I'd like to know if you'd be willing to train my son?"

"Hmmmmm…" Hideki seemed to be in deep thought, pulling on an imaginary beard that was not there.

"And if I refuse?" He quipped.

Hisashi sighed, but gave Hideki a challenging gleam. "Well then I guess I'll just have to go across the str-"

Before he could finish, Hideki started shaking his hands in a panic.

"Shhh! Don't say their names in this dojo!" Hideki grumbled.

Hisashi smiled, he knew bringing up the rival dojo from across the street would convince the man. However.

"Listen Hisashi, I would love nothing more than to train one of my oldest friends kid, but my plates full right now, I have two pro heroes up my ass on training some of their sidekicks. No offense."

Hisashi smiled though. "Then what about your daughter? Surely she could teach him?"

Itsuka looked to them in surprise, while Izuku grew red in the face once more. Hideki had a thoughtful look on his face.

"Surely a man of your caliber would honor his word from years ago, not in the promise of marriage; but how about in tutelage instead?" Hisashi knew he had his old friend now.

Hideki grew a large shit eating grin at the his clever friend. "Son of a bitch you got me there. Alright I'll honor that then. ITSUKA!"

Itsuka stood at attention.

"From here on out you are going to teach this shrimp all you know, he will be your student. And you!" He said while pointing to Izuku, who inadvertently stood up standing at attention as well.

"Keep those grubby hands off my daughter, but if you do want to marry her just give me the word." Hideki finished off with a wink.

Which caused the two almost teens to blush.

"D-Dad quit it."

Hisashi stood up as well, giving his friend a strong handshake. "Thank you so much old friend, now that I'm back home in Japan, we have much to catch up on."

Hideki matched his handshake with his own, "Ayy, well let's catch up while you do some paperwork. Itsuka, take young Midoriya to the changing room and get him suited up. He starts today."

Itsuka gulped, but gave a small bow in return.

"Yes father."

Hisashi looked at his son, "Have fun Izuku, I'll be here, and loosen up?"

With that to two adults walked to a small office off to the corner, disappearing within. Izuku looked towards Itsuka giving a small bow.

"K-Kendo-Sensei.."

Itsuka laughed at this, rubbing her head slightly.

"Meh, just call me Itsuka okay? Makes me feel like my old pops when you call me by my last name."

Izuku smiled, maybe this was the much needed change of pace he needed?

"Anyways I'm Itsuka Kendo, nice to meet you." She reached a hand over for a shake.

Izuku reached for her hand as well, though with slight hesitation. "Izuku Midoriya, likewise."

At this Itsuka tilted her head to the side, "What's your quirk?" She asked with childish curiosity.

Izuku gulped, retracting his hand from hers. "Umm, anything I touch turns into stone."

Expecting some kind of angry retort, especially how they just shook hands, Itsuka only looked at him with confusion.

"But I didn't turn into stone?"

Izuku gave a tiny smile at this, tentatively removing the glove from us right hand.

"These gloves prevent my quirk from activating since I can't 'turn it off', without them, everything and anything I touch will turn into stone." He explained.

"Even people?" Itsuka innocently asked.

Izuku winced at this, "Umm, yeah, even people."

As they walked into the changing room, Itsuka hummed to herself as she looked through the various white outfits like hers. Izuku stood awkwardly to the side slowly putting his glove back on.

"Before you put it back on, can I see your quirk?"

Izuku looked on curiously.

"If you show me yours, I'll show you mine." She innocently asked once more.

To any one that just so happened to pass by the changing room, that comment would have definitely raised a few eyebrows, but to two kids it meant only one thing to them as of now.

"Uhh sure." He looked about the room, trying to find something.

Before he could look anymore, Itsuka had grabbed a wooden styled sword.

"Here is a bokken, it's used for training for the other martial arts practiced here." She said aiming the hilt toward him.

Izuku unsheathed the wood sword with his left gloved hand, pulling it out. The sword had a bit of weight to it, he then gripped it with his right hand. Again, almost instantly the sword was encased in stone, beautifully highlighting the grain of the wood. Though it happened fast and quick, to Itsuka, it was like slow motion.

To her it reminded her of those time elapsed videos of ice frosting over water, it reminded her of a slow river flowing over, to her it looked amazing and fascinating all the same.

"Whoa." She breathlessly let out.

Izuku blushed slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"And does it like, stay like that forever?" She questioned.

Izuku set the bokken on the floor, and took off he's left glove. Before Itsuka could ask what he was doing, she sees Izuku bring his hands together, almost like a soft clap, and the stone dissipates away. An odd crumbling sound alerting her to it being set free, even though there was no debris left.

Before she can ask him about it, he cut her off, "Whenever it's something small like that, the stone just blows into some I imaginary wind, but if it's bigger like a stove or fridge, the rock is left behind."

"Ohhhhhhhhh, that makes sense." She thought while putting a finger to her chin.

Before he could talk again, she interrupted him as well by using her quirk. Izuku's eyes comically bulged out of his sockets as he looked at the enlarged hands before him. She smiled at his surprise and explained a bit of her quirk.

"I can enlarge both of my hands as you can see here, I can't feel the weight of them as they feel like normal hands to me, but they have the power to crush steel. Also I can lift objects with them, about one hundred pounds per for now, I've been practicing….a….bit…." she trailed off as she saw Izuku muttering to himself. I sounded funny to the girl, almost like a wind up toy with how fast he was speaking.

"The versatility if such a quirk is almost endless. Hero work, or rescue work she would be amazing in either of those two. Not to mention the power I'm sure those have can easily be used to her obvious advantage, not to mention should easily carry those who are injured anywhere, as long as she keeps her quirk up. BUT, then that leaves the implications of whether she can keep her quirk up for long periods of time or not. Oh I wish I had my notebook, with it I wo-" Izuku stooped his, his cheeks glowing red hot, he felt himself getting dizzy.

"Uhh whoa." She said once more.

Izuku looked away in shame, in school Kacchan found his muttering annoying, but he put up with it because it was a part of his childhood friend. His classmates on the other hand would make fun of him or poke fun at him. Which was odd since Izuku had a quirk, a powerful one at that; but since they all knew he NEVER used it, and wore odd colored gloves, they would poke fun at his expense now and then. But then again they were just a couple of 'stupid kids' and 'extras' as Kacchan would say.

"I never thought about how my quirk could be used for rescue…all that you said makes sense."

Izuku tensed, no one really ever praised his tirades, only his family did. The notebooks he had at home usually made it easier for the boy, it allowed him to 'mutter' till his hearts content.

"Anyways I call it, Big Fist!" She said happily. She then looked at Izuku expectantly.

Izuku felt himself shuffling in his shoes, wondering why she was looking at him, like she was waiting for something.

"Izuku? This is usually the part where you tell me the name of your quirk as well." She said giggling at the weirdness of her new disciple.

"O-oh…right…" He paused. "The name of my quirk is Medusa's Embrace." He rubbed his hands together nervously.

Itsuka on the other hand grew another thoughtful look. "Medusa? As in the Greek gorgon who turned people into stone?"

"Umm, yes."

A small silence filled the once quiet room, though it lasted four seconds, to Izuku it felt like minutes.

"Huh, you keep surprising me more and more Izuku, I think we are gonna be good friends." Itsuka said happily, returning to the outfits from before.

Izuku felt himself smile at what she said, even with knowledge of what his quirk was, she still wanted to be his friend. Friends was something Izuku was greatly lacking, he only had Kacchan for that department, but if Itsuka was so willing to be his friend who was he to say no?

"Here go change, and put these on, since it is your first day we are going to just start with the principles of martial arts." Itsuka stated. Hoping she sounded professional like her father.

Izuku must of thought so for he gave his new 'master'/friend a quick bow and made a dash for an open room to the side.

As she saw the weird boy run off she looked back to the Bokken on the floor. Casually she picked it back up and placed it back on a rack opposite of the training uniforms. **"Good friends huh? I think we are going to get along just fine." **She thought to herself.

* * *

_6 months later _

"OOF!"

A whistle blared off from the sideline.

"Alright good job as always young Kendo."

A voice groaned from the mat below, Itsuka made a reach to help the person up.

"Ahh young Midoriya, you've made immense progress as well, stand tall."

"Yes s-sir." Izuku said while standing stiff as a board.

Itsuka sweat dropped at her friends antics. Though she was his superior and so called 'sensei', she treated themselves as equals, only acting the master part when instructing him of new techniques.

"Now you kids go get changed up. Good job young Kendo, your teachings of young Midoriya have showed promise, and I know you." He said pointing to Izuku. "Will only strive to get better and better, I see promise."

Izuku and Itsuka gave a bow racing each other to the locker rooms.

Hideki smiled at the sight. His daughter always had a hard time making friends with others. Not because she was bitch or anything with a shit personality, far from that. Itsuka was a sweetheart, the nicest person you would ever talk to, and overall friendly to everyone she ever came across. Her classmates on the other hands were fucking little shits that deserved to be cauterized so they never reproduced.

Apparently to some judgmental and jealous bitches, they felt since Itsuka was the leading student in academics in school, that they should ostracize her from most groups in the school. There were the brave few who stood tall in defiance of these girls, but many cowered in fear for the fact that the leader of that crude bunches' mother was the principal of said school. Hideki wanted to raise hell, using all his personal connections and favors to ensure he had the faculty and staff changed, but his daughter insisted that she did not mind. She always said let them talk all they want, it bothered her none.

Hideki sighed, **"That girl is gonna be a handful when she's in U.A." **He was interrupted from his musings when he heard the front door to the dojo open.

"Oh Hideki, is Izuku ready to leave?"

"Ahh, Inko it's good to see you again, Hisashi couldn't make it I assume?"

Inko sighed. "Oh you know that man and where he works, they are going to keep him later than usual, but it's better since he can come home now." Inko said with a smile.

"Good. Keep that man in check for me you hear? Definitely tell him I said hi." Hideki smiled in return.

Before their conversation could continue, they were interrupted from the laughter of two now similar height teenagers coming from out a door.

"So Kacchan thought it would be smart to turn the oven on next!"

Itsuka howled with laughter, Izuku barely containing the laughter of his own. The joke was lost to the two adults, but felt happiness at the sight of the two friends.

"Izuku! How did today go?"

Izuku looked forward to his mom smiling. He looked to the side, giving his friend a fist bump.

"Hey mom! It went well, as always Itsuka wiped the floor with me." Izuku said while giving his mom a quick hug.

Itsuka blushed at the praise, a large grin on her face. "Hehe you landed a few solid hits Izuku, but yes I did kick your butt again." This got a laugh out of Hideki.

"That's my girl for you! You ready to go my cutesy wootsy pumpkin pie?" He cooed. Which coming from such an intimidating man, it sounded like a sick joke.

It got the desired effect however as Itsuka stomped foot once in annoyance.

"Oh ha-ha-ha dad." Itsuka blushed more. Her father always tried embarrassing her in front of her friends, something Inko loved doing as well it seemed.

"You call her that too? See Izuku and here I thought I was the only parent!" She cooed in equal tandem.

Izuku felt himself sputtering a bit moving his hands back and forth in a frenzy.

"N-No you don't l-liar!" Izuku stuttered out.

Both parents laughed at this, while the two teens looked at each other, a face of equal suffering shared between them.

"Well thanks again Hideki, young Kendo thanks for helping my son as well." Inko said with a small bow.

Itsuka matched the bow in return. "Of course Mrs. Midoriya, anything for my friend." She smiled at Izuku, who returned one as well.

With that, the two green-ettes walked over to the train station in the Chiba prefecture. The ride home was only twenty minutes, which usually allowed the two to talk all they wanted. Inko noticed the change in her son. He seemed more confident and carried himself straighter. He no longer, as far as she could tell, felt controlled by how he thought his quirk symbolized him. The 'secret' quirk training's from young Katsuki, and his continued efforts here in the dojo, she saw the new confidence her son carried himself with.

"Hey mom, I think I'm gonna need another pair of gloves soon, these are starting to itch a bit." As to add emphasis to what he said, he scratched at his hands.

"Oh, of course sweetie we can go, let's say in two days? So your father can join us?" She said aloud and thought to herself.

Izuku smiled. "Of course mom that sounds good to me."

Before the comfortable silence could return once more, Inko remembered something.

"Yes that's right...Izuku, how do you feel about visiting aunt Aiko in two weeks?"

Izuku felt himself get giddy with joy. "Of course mom! I'd love to see her again!"

Inko smiled, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Maybe it was your aunt just talking son, but apparently someone special is going to be there?" Inko paused, giving Izuku a side glance.

Izuku eyes grew wide, that usually implied one thing from what he garnered from their visits sometimes in Saitama. And boy was he excited to see said special someone.

* * *

Midnight gave a sigh, she always found these scoutings a huge snooze fest. Promising students would arrive on a small panel, introduce themselves, and showcase the main aspect of their quirk. It was a new method that helped with the eventual application status at U.A. as history continued to show, if the students had good grades in school, they would usually keep pursuing for U.A. Also with hundreds of thousands of applicants every year for the four courses taught at the school, it helped weed out some of the competition. Only those deemed with promising grades, and quirk aptitude were ever given the chance in these scoutings, and from what Midnight could see some of these students had what it took. Particularly a certain green haired teen.

"Hello. My name is Setsuna Tokage, and my quirk is called Lizard Tail Splitter, or LTS for short."

Midnight found this student very promising from what she read on her spreadsheet. At just twelve years of age, she showed promise against even her upperclassmen, grade wise at least. Quirks were not allowed in public, or public schools for that matter, only special institutes like U.A, Shiketsu, and Seiai academy being a few to name. So when it came to her quirk against others, that would have to be saved for the high schools. However in these scouting's students were allowed to use their quirk and let it 'flare' so to speak for thirty seconds, as the various scouters looked at the student and took down notes.

So when Midnight saw this student split her body into thirty pieces, each piece floating about the room; she felt an excitement fill her. As for the rest of the room some took down notes shaking their heads, most likely writing her off from their school, but to many others they frantically wrote down all they were seeing. Midnight was also taking down notes, this was about the age students with great promise or everyday ones were sent mail from high schools all around, asking for recruitment in their schools. Recommendations they called it, and as for U.A, the recommendations they gave out were rare, but if one were to get a special gold envelope in their mail, it was something to celebrate about.

Soon the pieces slowly floated back to Setsuna and connected back onto her. She gave a bow and walked off the stage.

Once behind the curtains she felt herself collapsing on her knees, something many students like her felt after the eyes of some of the top heroes, professors, business men and women alike looked at them as if they were a slab of meat.

"Setsuna! Oh my baby you did so good out there!"

Setsuna gave a toothy grin as her mother approached, "Thanks mom, wow my nerves feel like they are on fire."

Asako helped her daughter off the floor, "Come on now, your father is in the common room, a stuttering mess as well."

Setsuna smiled at this, her father was more worried about this than her. Setsuna felt confident as she walked onto the stage, but she would admit with the lights blaring in her eyes from above, and the various schools, highlighted by a little plaque on their table. She felt her nerves consuming her very being, but she held it together long enough to see the U.A rep, Midnight, writing down on a piece of paper below. Something that she noticed as well as her father, who in the common room, those who wanted to stay and watch the rest of the students could by way of TV.

"Setsuna! Oh man that was nerve racking!" Her father gulped.

Setsuna rolled her eyes, but hugged her father. "Your telling me dad, I don't even know how I'm walking right now!"

She was the last student of the day, and many began filing out of the common room, some students had smiles on their faces, while others looked down in defeat. However Midnight could not shake the thought of the girl from her head, something about her sparked her interest. So what better way than to cause a scene than approach the girl and her family; and she did exactly that.

"Excuse me, Setsuna Tokage was it?"

Many turned around as Midnight the R-18 pro-hero, turned teacher from U.A called out. Some looked on in wonder, others in jealousy, to be addressed by a pro hero, now rep/educator of U.A had to have been an honor.

Setsuna turned around in a panic, standing straight giving the hero her attention.

"Y-Yes, that's me ma'am." Setsuna was shaking a bit.

Midnight gave a laugh at the way she addressed her, "Oh honey ma'am makes me feel old, but please relax though, I just wanted to say one thing."

Fujio and Asako were sweating at the tense atmosphere, they knew U.A was the school their daughter wanted to attend, and to poor Setsuna she felt her heart barely keeping her up with how nervous she was.

"I just wanted to say you show promise. Keep it up, and you just might make it~." With that Midnight gave the girl a wink, making her way back to theater room to get her stuff.

Her parents gasped as they looked at their daughter, who stood stock still a face of varying emotions consuming her.

"**Midnight the pro-hero, U.A rep, and teacher of said high school, just told me I could make it."** Her mind was going a mile a minute. And before her parents could ask their daughter if she was alright, Setsuna let out a scream of joy.

"YESSSSSSSSSS!" She called out, pulling her parents close, hugging them with all her might.

"Mom! Dad! Did you hear that!? She said I can do it!"

Her parents chuckled as they held their daughter, though from the various groans in the room, some students felt defeated, while others just let their heads hang quite literally on the floor, their parents doing their best to console their children.

"Setsuna we know you can do it, make sure you show her that her words weren't just praise!" Fujio exclaimed.

"Yes! Make it happen!" Asako concluded with.

Setsuna held her parents close, feeling tears of happiness brim her eyes, she was one step closer, she still had three years to go, but if she kept up what she was going, she knew that recommendation was as good as hers.

* * *

Izuku sat in the back seat of the car as his parents and him drove to his aunt's house. He had not seen his auntie in about two months or so, as she was busy with the hero Midnight on a trip somewhere in England. On hero business or pleasure, who knew for sure, but Izuku was excited to see his aunt once more.

The hopeful wonder he had as a child on the drive was still their, like an ember that stubbornly refused to die out. Not out of his love of quirks dying, his analysis notebooks proved that to be not the case; but rather Izuku had matured the last few months, he had gotten taller, had more muscle, and he felt confident in himself. The constant training with Kacchan, and martial arts with Itsuka, not to mention his dads return home, Izuku felt himself in the best place he's felt since he was four.

Soon, they arrived at auntie Aiko's house, but another car was parked other than his aunts outside the front. Alluding to the mysterious person inside. Izuku knew whose car that was, and judging by how he was jumping in his back seat in excitement, his parents figured their son had already figured it out.

"Dad! Dad! Dad! Hurry and park! I want to see auntie Aiko!" Izuku said with glee.

His dad chuckled as he parked the car, watching as his son hurriedly removed his seat-belt. Inko could barely call out to him as he made a mad dash to his aunts front door.

"UGH! That kid is gonna be the death of me Hisashi.." Inko said worriedly, trying to get her own stubborn seat-belt off.

Hisashi chuckled undoing his own. "You and me both honey."

They could hear their son laughing with glee as he was in the arms of his aunt.

"Auntie! Auntie! Auntie! I've missed you so much!" He said while hugging her strongly.

Aiko grunted slightly at the strong contact, taking note on how Izuku seemed to be way stronger than two months ago. Though the pair was interrupted by another voice, one who seemed to be pouting like a child.

"Awww Zu! I hope you saved some of that sugar for me~." Nemuri, Aka Midnight playfully whined. "Quit hogging it all Ko-Ko!"

Izuku let go of his aunt rushing into the arms of his metaphorical aunt.

"Auntie Nemu! I missed you too of course!"

Midnight smiled at the teen, he was already growing so big, and she was glad she met him when he was nine. Now and then when he would visit, Midnight would be with his aunt, her best friend, and they bonded as time went on; she loved how innocent and pure he was, that she felt herself getting attached to the small boy. She knew he admired her as a hero, having been told by Inko, that his room was filled with some of her action figures, and collectibles. Something she found cute from the big nerdy cinnamon roll. Stories for another day.

"Ohh Zu! You've gotten so big! My, dare I say my little hero is becoming a man?" She playfully teased. "Hmmm, you're almost ready to be my husband." She furthered.

Izuku blushed at the comment but laughed all the same. She meant everything she said in love and fun, she was not some creep, she merely adored the boy as he found a place in her heart.

"Don't get the boys hopes up Nemuri." Inko called out as they made their way to them.

Nemuri broke the hug and approached Inko offering a hug of her own in return.

"Aww scared I'm gonna take your little boy away Inko?" She jested.

Inko laughed as her husband approached, this was the first time the two were going to meet after all.

"My My My~ Is this the husband you talk about Inko? The one with *ahem* 'talents'?" She winked at the two.

Hisashi grew a puzzled face, the meaning not lost on him however; but Inko looked mortified.

"H-Hey! Nemuri quit it! That is between us!" Inko blushed out.

"I wish you would of kept me out of that loop though sis.." Aiko grumbled out. She did NOT want to hear about her sisters 'escapades', no less with Hisashi. She shivered at the thought. She wished she would of walked out of the room when Nemuri had pestered Inko about 'that' part of her life.

All Nemuri did was laugh joyously, she found pleasure in teasing others, and the two Midoriyas were such easy targets. She thought about teasing Inko's husband in good fun, but knew better than to earn the Inko's wrath.

Collectively, they all made their way inside the house, situating themselves at the kitchen table. The three woman quickly chatting among themselves, as Izuku and Hisashi looked on. Hisashi reached over to his son Izuku, shaking his shoulder slightly.

"Hey Izuku, how goes the training with young Kendo?"

A simple question, one Izuku happily answered back.

"Oh it's been really good dad! It's given me so many ideas for uses of my quirk in combat."

Hisashi nodded at this, a look of thought on his face. He had not been able to pick up Izuku this last week, having been stuck at work every night.

"Makes sense, I mean with how your quirk requires you to touch, I'd imagine the teachings at the dojo help with that." Hisashi smiled. "And what of your little friend Itsuka huh? You like her?" Hisashi knew that question would get under his sons skin, as was shown when Izuku blushed, although a small smile graced his face.

"Honestly dad, it's a sister, brother feeling between us, you know? S-She's pretty yes, but I don't see her in that light…" Izuku closed his eyes, deep in thought. If anything, he could not help but think of the girl from so long ago. Every time he would come to his aunts, he would still go to the tree, in hopes of seeing her again.

He felt ashamed to say as the years progressed, he thought of her less and less, so much so he had forgotten her name entirely. Though as for her appearance he felt he remembered it by heart. She had green hair like his, a pair of green eyes like his, though they looked black from afar, and her smile is what really bewitched him. The way her small smile back then made him feel, was a feeling he had not felt in a long time.

Though it was obvious that she would look completely different compared to all those years ago, Izuku had held onto the small hope that one day they would be reunited. Which was crazy to think since he did not remember her name, though he assumed she felt the same. They were both far off memories of each other.

"Son?" That was the sound of his father, who upon Izuku looking in his direction showed everyone looking at him.

Bewildered, he looked around the room to see if he was missing something. Earning him a chuckle from Nemuri.

"Izuku," his mother's voice, "We asked if this restaurant that opened by the plaza would sound good for dinner?"

Izuku on the other hand was confused. "The plaza by the park?" He questioned, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

The four noticed this, Nemuri came quick to answer.

"Yes that one. The one where we met remember?" She paused reaching into the pocket of her shorts. "When you gave me this remember?" In her hand was a pin from so long ago, or at least it felt that way to Izuku.

"Well I didn't really give it to you auntie Nemu, I just used my quirk on it…." He trailed off, tapping the table they sat at nervously.

Aiko took this as her chance to talk. "Well we wanted to ask if that place was alright with you, we know how you feel about being in that area."

Izuku gave pause at this, he felt a little bad they never went by that area anymore because of him, although he was grateful they took him into consideration.

With a gulp Izuku decided that maybe it was time to try and move on from his childhood fear. **"Plus a new place to eat sounds pretty good…"** He liked that thought.

"Yea guys, lets go. I know with my family it will be okay." He finally convinced himself.

The four adults gave Izuku a smile. Smiles that made him feel safe. He looked to his hands rubbing them gently through the fabric. **"Everything will be okay, especially with auntie Nemu there with us, she will protect me just like mom, dad, and auntie Aiko will."** He felt excited, this new change of pace felt good, he liked the feeling in his chest.

* * *

To celebrate Setsuna's performance at the scouting, her parents planned to take her out to dinner, and she could eat whatever she wanted! Let's just say she had a BIG appetite for a twelve year old. and it had a lot to do with her quirk, and this would definitely cost them a considerable amount of Yen. She smiled and looked towards a vanity set up in the corner of her room. Laid gently by the mirror, sat some hair products, as well as her only piece of makeup. Eyeliner. Though what sat upon a small pillow by the mirrors was a rather dull looking thing, something she had kept for years. To Setsuna it was the final touch she needed for her outfit, the final touch to almost all her outfits.

She reached a gentle hand over it, feeling the rough texture at the tips of her fingers. With care, she placed this thing into her hair, styling it accordingly. It always gave her hair such a flare, with the grey color of it contrasting beautifully against her green mane. Many of her friends had asked her where she had gotten it, and some wondered where they could get one of their own. Though it was a secret she would never share, well, mainly for the fact she had no clue how it even came to be. Setsuna just smiled looking at herself in the mirror once more. **"This is a one of a kind...something special just for me"** She lovingly thought.

She wore a nice simple white sundress, that gave her such a girlish look, her hair had been swept back in a ponytail, the thing held elegantly near her ear. Setsuna usually leaned to the more 'Tomboyish' look, but tonight was a special occasion! So she dolled herself up without being excessive, although she had just turned into a teenager, she felt it was time to try and dress more like a girl. She had on a small bit of eyeliner, something her mother had taught her a while back. Though to Fujio the thought had irked him, he felt she was too young, but as Setsuna had said, her friends were doing it and she felt left out. Fujio begrudgingly allowed it, doing anything for his baby girl, no matter how much he was against some things.

"Setsuna! Are you ready!" Called a voice from down the hall.

"Yes dad! I'm on my way!" She answered back.

Setsuna gave herself one last look in the mirror and stared at the stone flower that laid gently in her hair. She felt her cheeks heat up warmly for some reason, smiling from ear to ear. Her teeth still sharper than ever, thanks to her parents and hers quirk, it added an appeal to her, an almost mischievous look to her otherwise young beautiful features. With a final adjustment to her hair, she made her way out of her room.

"Setsuna your mother and I were talki-" Fujio felt his voice hitch in his throat. The way his daughter was dressed was definitely to impress, but what caught his breath was how she was the spitting image of her mother. He felt a manly tear escape his eye, trying his best to keep it together.

"Oh my beautiful baby girl!" Asako cooed. She wanted to go up to her daughter, and smother her but thought against it. It looked like Setsuna really tried her hardest to look good tonight, and her love and affection would only mess up Setsuna's outfits and hair. Asako followed suit with a sun dress of her own, while Fujio dressed casually in a nice button up and slacks. It really was a special occasion, and the Tokage family made their way to the family vehicle, the parents wondering what Setsuna had in mind.

The clicks of seat belts alerted Fujio to start the car, he turned in his seat, facing his daughter who sat in the back. "So squirt where to?"

Setsuna smiled, as she felt herself become giddy with joy. "I was thinking of that restaurant down by the shopping district at the park? You remember?" She asked in hope.

Asako gave a hearty laugh at this. "Well it's a good thing your father is paying!"

Fujio rolled his eyes. "Honey we share the same bank account remember?"

Asako pretended to act shocked. "WHAT?! When did this happen?! ANSWER ME HUSBAND." She concluded by grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, a wild look in her eye.

Setsuna was in a giggle fit at the silliness before her, sometime a year ago her mother had taken up the mantle in the teasing game, dethroning Fujio making him the target from the both of them. Something that annoyed him to no end, but he guessed it's how his wife felt all those years. Karma sure had a way of biting one in the ass.

"Oh ha-ha-ha, alright Setsuna we will go there." He smiled at her. "Anything for my baby girl."

Setsuna felt warm at the praise, even though she was a teenager, she loved and appreciated everything her parents did for her. She loved when they would refer to her as if she was eight again, made her feel that no matter what, she would always be their baby girl.

* * *

Izuku had dressed in a nice blue button up, with a pair of black jeans, however he felt like wearing his green gloves tonight, which threw his outfit off, much to the chagrin of Aiko. He wore his regular sneakers, nothing too special. His mother wore a beige blouse with basic blue jeans, with beige flats. His father mirrored his own outfit however, and it made Izuku wonder if this had been planned beforehand? Aiko wore an orange sundress, with white flats. Nemuri wore a navy blue short dress, black heels to go along with it. **"Yeah they definitely planned this." **Izuku was smart, judging by the fact everyone had a nice outfit for tonight's dinner, this was no mere coincidence.

"Y'all ready?" Hisashi asked.

Everyone gave various answers that signaled they were good to go. So as a group, they walked out Aiko's back door, making way to the Plaza a short distance away. The restaurant they had in mind had opened roughly a year ago, becoming a popular hot spot for families, and young couples. Nothing fancy, but one had to dress semi-formal to eat here. Nemuri had gotten the recommendation from one of her former fellow staff members, and she had to say the place was delicious as its main appeal was serving American style dishes. Her favorite had to be the steak and eggs, who would've thought they would of gone so good together? Those Americans were innovators when it came to the food game.

Soon they arrived at the establishment, Nemuri leading the pack. Upon entering some whispered about at what looked like the pro-hero Midnight, with an entourage that resembled a family unit.

Nemuri made way for the hostess. "Yes, I have a reservation, table for five under Nemuri?"

The hostess sweat a little, her hands shaking as she grabbed some menus by her station.

"R-R-Right this way Midnight!" The hostess squeaked.

Midnight waved a hand at her. "Please I'm off duty right now."

The hostess tried apologizing looking silly as she bowed over and over, but Nemuri cut her off.

"Please, the table?" Nemuri was not annoyed by any means, but judging with how everyone was now looking at them in the restaurant, she could see the discomfort in Izuku's eyes, as he subconsciously hid his hands in his pockets.

"Y-Yes right this w-way!" The hostess said a little to loudly.

Where they were seated was what was considered the 'VIP area' in the restaurant. It had a nice view of the park off in the distance, as well as a bit of seclusion from the other restaurant goers. Also, cutely in the center of the table sat a single rose in a vase. However, on their walk to the table Izuku had felt a certain pair of eyes staring a hole into the back of his head, almost like a primal feeling that something was not just watching him, but reading his every move.

Even when they were seated and the menus passed around, Izuku still felt the eyes on him, he tried his best to distract himself, trying to get lost in the menu. He felt the gaze leave after a while, allowing him to give out a relaxed sigh.

Across the way sat Setsuna and her family, and when she saw Midnight come into the restaurant as a civilian, she felt herself get excited. However, she walked in with a family, three of which she knew from somewhere. She had not realized it, but she felt herself staring straight at the boy with them, he wore green gloves, had green hair, and freckles. She examined every feature of him, trying her damnedest to remember why he looked so familiar. Before some realization could hit her, she felt a slight pinch on her side, the side her mother sat on.

"Setsuna. It's rude to stare, stop it." Her mother scolded.

Setsuna rubbed the swore spot her mother just made. She tried looking back towards the table again, but stopped when the food was brought to them.

"Enjoy!" Exclaimed the waiter.

The family clapped their hands together in thanks, and soon dug in. Setsuna had gotten something called 'Fried Chicken and tater tots'. She knew what chicken was, but having it fried like this was definitely something different! Also her tater tots, which her father explained were basically smooshed french fries, tasted like fries yes, but the shape of them made them taste all the better!

Setsuna then felt something, or rather someone staring at her. Puzzled she looked around looking for the what was making her feel this way. Only to meet the eyes of the boy she was staring down from earlier.

The boy in front of her yelped before hiding back behind his menu, giving small peaks from around the plastic material.

Nemuri was seated right next to Izuku, with his mother on his other side; as she knew what she was going to order, she had time to look around the restaurant, the rest of her company busy looking at the menus themselves. Questioning aloud what many of these things on the menu exactly where. She noticed some people around them were shooting small glances towards them, most likely because of her, but what really caught her attention was the way Izuku was acting.

He kept looking over his menu, his father was seated in front of him and she assumed that's what caught his attention. However, as she followed his eyes better, she saw him sharing looks with a girl from across the other side. A girl she immediately recognized as Setsuna Tokage from earlier. The girl herself was sharing small looks herself, seeing a small smile coming from the girl.

Setsuna did not know why but she felt like smiling while looking at this boy, and with the cute way he smiled back, she felt her heart slightly race. Izuku felt the exact same way as he stared at the girl, though he felt like he had seen her from somewhere, the way her hair was green reminded him of something. The way her eyes looked black from afar, but with the slight reflection of the lighting within, he noticed the eyes had a green gleam to them. And that smile, why did it make his heart race all the more faster?

Setsuna stared at the boy feeling her cheeks flush slightly. She liked how green his hair was, she liked how each cheek was adorned with four dots, freckles. **"Four, four, four…." **She felt herself think.

Nemuri had stared at the interaction going on before her with glee, feeling herself get excited at what looked like childish flirting. Nemuri decided now was the time to talk. She slowly leaned down to Izuku whispering something to him.

"_Psst, Zu, do you know that girl?"_ Izuku felt himself jump at the sudden voice, looking toward his aunt in surprise.

"_Huh?! Is she your girlfriend?" _Nemuri knew for a fact that she was not, but she did not want to miss a chance at teasing the cinnamon roll.

Izuku blushed at the idea, burying his face deep into the menu, not peeking up anymore.

Setsuna saw Midnight had leaned down to the boys ear, saying something to him, which made him jolt in shock, only for her to tell him something again. That's when she saw him dig his face into the menu, not chancing a peek again. Setsuna felt herself pout at this, feeling unsatisfied for some reason.

Fujio noticed his daughter had stopped touching her food. Wondering if she had not liked it.

"Honey? Was it not good?" Fujio worded aloud.

Setsuna looked towards her father in surprise. "Oh no dad I love it! Sorry just got a little distracted."

Fujio nodded towards his daughter digging back into his food. Asako however stayed quiet, sipping her hot tea lightly as she looked toward the boy her daughter was trading glances with. She had never seen him before from the group of friends she had at school, and as she looked at the boy herself, namely two other women at his table, she remembered a day at the park all those years ago. Asako smiled to herself, keeping this tidbit of information to herself for now.

Once Izuku's table had ordered, conversation lightly took over as small talk was established. Izuku however not having anywhere to hide, looked back at the girl again, who was giving him side glances as well.

The two smiled at each other again, Izuku scratching his head slightly, as Setsuna giggled behind her hand.

Setsuna's family had just ordered desert, and Fujio was talking to his wife, the latter of which was barely paying attention to him as she still looked now and then at her daughter. Asako smiled a bit bigger as she continually blew and sipped her tea, loving how her daughters cheeks turned red at the attention, as well as how the boy seemed to be matching her color. **"Ahh to be young…"** She sighed to herself.

Nemuri noticed the two looking at each other once more, the friendliness from earlier still between them. Before she could tease him again, their food had been brought to them.

"Enjoy!" Exclaimed the waiter.

The table oooed in awe at the odd looking ensemble, Izuku had by chance ordered "Fried chicken and tater tots'. He took a tentative bite, but his eyes shone with stars at the taste of the chicken, and when he ate a tater tot, he felt like his mouth was in heaven. Inadvertently, the way he reacted caused a loud giggle to come from Setsuna. Which Izuku noticed and looked over to her, food hanging slightly from his mouth.

Setsuna gave a small wave towards him, her fingers wiggling in an unknown flirtatious manner. Izuku swallowed his food harshly, the red on his cheeks returning once more.

Fujio had noticed this time what his daughter was doing, and turned to see who she was waving at, and in such a way no less. He was stopped however as he felt a harsh tug on his collar, making him stare back at his wife. Slowly a floating hand had comeback, popping back into place on her wrist. Fujio gave a raised eyebrow at this.

"Please, don't ruin this for me Fujio, I'll explain it to you later." Asako said through her teeth.

Fujio was going to retort, but as if these waiters had ungodly powers to know when to diffuse situations, a large family sundae was dropped in the middle of their table.

"ENJOY!" The waiter said loudly this time.

Forgetting it for now, the Tokage family dug into their dessert, all the while Setsuna still looked to the boy. Accidentally she missed her mouth when scoping a glob of ice cream, and instead poked her nose. She jumped at the cold touch, her eyes staring owlishly at the white splotch now on her nose. She heard small giggles in return, and looked to see the boy cover his mouth, mirroring her from earlier. She felt her face go warm in embarrassment, but for some reason when this boy looked at her she didn't feel humiliated, she felt something else….something she had never felt before.

Hisashi noticed his son giggling, while looking over his shoulder. Before he could turn around, he felt Nemuri reach out to him, but what really got his attention was the tug he felt on his collar from Inko's quirk. He looked to his wife, raising his own eyebrow in confusion.

"Don't ruin this for me Hisashi." Inko seethed out gently, though he felt it was better to just let it be.

Nemuri retracted her hand slightly in shock, looking toward Inko, who gave her a wink in return.

"_You saw too?" _She mouthed the words in her direction.

Inko smiled in return nodding her head. Aiko noticed the exchange but kept quiet on it, whatever these two were seeing she knew she would be informed about later. **"Damn now I regret trading seats with Nemu…"** Aiko thought to herself.

The next few minutes played out like this, the two teens sharing glances all throughout their respective meals. Smiling and blushing like idiots to one another., something drew themselves to one another, and they could not shake the feeling away. Izuku felt her smile reminded him of the little girl he helped at the park, while Izuku's freckles reminded Setsuna of the boy that helped her when she fell. Setsuna felt her scar ache lightly, she rubbed it, though the feeling would not go away.

That's when Izuku finally noticed. The whole time he had been staring at her face and smile, only seeing the green of her hair in the frame of her face. His eyes trailed up slightly noticing in her hair sat something he had forgotten about, a far off memory that had made him feel at his lowest.

In her hair sat the flower he touched when he was four, and something about her having it, something about knowing for a fact she's had it for a long time, due to how it looked aged. Made his heart flutter, but his mind went into a frenzy. He looked down at his hands in wonder.

Setsuna noticed the sudden change in the boys demeanor, wondering herself what came over him. Before she could get an answer she saw him take off a glove.

Izuku did not know what possessed him, but he took the glove off his right hand, something that all those at his table noticed.

His mother was the first to answer. "Izuku, what are you doing?" She asked curiously.

Before anyone else could ask him anything, Izuku reached over with his left hand, grabbing the rose from the vase on the table. Upon taking it out Izuku whispered to himself. And only to him those words he would know. With a soft touch Izuku let his right hand graze the flowers petals, down to the stem, being careful to avoid the thorns for now. Interestingly enough however, with how calm Izuku felt in that moment something interesting happened. Instead of the rapid turning into stone that those at his table thought would happen, they bared witness to something beautiful. As his fingers started at the petals and continued downward, the rose was slowly encased in stone, following gently along his fingers. Inko put her hand to her mouth, feeling a small tear come out her left eye, Asako looked on in equal surprise, Hisashi following suit. Nemuri eyes were held wide open, her eyes shone as she smiled at the beautiful sight.

Izuku let go of the breath he was holding. This was something he had practiced with Itsuka's guidance, mediation did wonders for his inner peace, but mainly for his quirk. Izuku practiced these calm breaths before, learning to control the speed at which his quirk moved on an object, he had only shown Kacchan this, other than Itsuka for obvious reasons. Again, before they could ask how Izuku did such a thing, he rubbed his fingers gently over the thorns, feeling them slightly as he continued his slight rubbing. There was one thing his family all thought as they watched Izuku slowly mold the flower, there was a lot he was not telling them.

Then Izuku stood up from his chair, slipping his right glove back on.

Setsuna had stared at the entire scene happening before her, when he she saw him grab the rose with a gloved hand, she tilted her head in confusion. Then she saw something, she shook her head rapidly, wondering if she had been dreaming this whole time. The rose the boy held was slowly turning grey, no something about it felt familiar. She subconsciously reached over to the flower in her hair. Touching it gently to alert her that it was in fact still there.

Then the boy got up from his seat and slowly made way towards her table, _straight towards her_. The rose held in front of him. She felt her breath hitch in her throat, her heart beat faster than it ever had before, as the boy neared. Asako held her hands to her mouth, feeling small tears of her own.

Inko and Nemuri had copied the same action unknowingly that Asako held; Hisashi and Aiko looked on in confusion as he slowly walked toward a table that sat a girl and a couple.

Fujio had noticed a small commotion fill the restaurant, as well as the various emotions on his wife's and daughter's face, he turned in his chair seeing a boy approaching with something in his hand.

Izuku's heart was beating faster than it ever had in his life, he felt his feet sweat as he approached the girl he had been sharing glances and laughs with all dinner. It did not help that the restaurant gave slight commotion at what was happening right now. It also did not help that the room grew deathly quiet as Izuku now stood by the girl.

Gulping, and huge blush on his face, Izuku reached out towards the girl, the rose in his hand. He did not know how he did it, but he was offering a rose to a girl, not to mention a rose he used his quirk on. He gave a shy smile as he looked towards the girl.

Setsuna felt her whole face flush, her body started sweating from all over as she reached over towards the rose. She could feel a large toothy grin curve on her lips, she gently took the flower from his hand, quickly pulling it to her chest; Looking away in embarrassment, though that large smile never leaving, she chanced small glances his way as he stood still.

The restaurant goers gave various cheers and whistles at the sight before them, some shouting cheers of encouragement at the young childish display of 'love'.

Izuku could barely breathe, the smile she just gave him could only belong to one person. Someone he had wondered about for the better part of nine years. He still did not remember her name, his memory still fuzzy in that aspect, but he knew for a fact that this girl was the one he 'saved' when he was three.

Before Izuku could question her on her name, it was as if fate had other ideas.

A large explosion from outside shook the building, causing the beautiful scene before them to shatter. Everyone looked out of the windows surrounding the restaurant in alarm. Outside was a scuffle between a villain and hero, this hero however had a scarf around his neck, his eyes flaring at the attacker before him. Setsuna and Izuku looked at each other in a panic, before midnight grabbed Izuku from behind pulling him away.

"Izuku! Stay here with your family, sorry guys I'll be right back. Someone will be here soon to evacuate you all!" Midnight was pissed. Whoever this fucking villian was, she was going to make sure he. WOULD. PAY. She rushed out to help her fellow pro-hero and colleague.

Eraser head grunted as he was knocked down, this villain had a mutant quirk, and the explosion from earlier was just the sheer power of him attacking the side of the building. Before Eraserhead could strategize, he saw a violet cloud of smoke surrounding the villain , who started coughing loudly.

"YOU."

Eraserhead felt his hairs stand on the back of his neck, he wondered what had gotten the R-18 hero so upset.

"YOU ARE GOING TO WISH. YOU STAYED IN THAT HOLE YOUR MOTHER PUSHED YOU OUT OF." Before her quirk could knock the villain out, Nemuri roundhouse kicked the villain across the skull, a loud cracking sound, and he fell unconscious.

Nemuri sighed as she helped her friend up.

"Fuck Aizawa, if this was not the guy you had been trying to get for the last few months, I'd punish you right now."

Eraserhead gave an annoyed sigh at this. "Was I interrupting something?" He did not care if he was, he was just asking to be polite.

Nemuri sighed as she turned around to see police evacuating people from the buildings all over. The restaurant she was just at, was in the middle of pulling everyone out, many being led to their cars in the nearby parking lot. She saw Setsuna being dragged along by her family as a cop with antennas on his head lead the way. The sight before her broke her heart. The young teen had clutched the rose near her heart, looking longingly as she was dragged away.

Izuku himself was in a state of emotions as cops lead them away from the scene. Since his aunt's house was nearby, they had evacuated them close by the park, along with a few other families.

Izuku could only stare in sadness as Setsuna left his sight, Setsuna could only stare in equal sadness as Izuku was dragged away as well. Setsuna clutched the rose close to her heart, feeling how gentle the thorns felt, said thorns being nubbed down. The gentleness the boy took to give her this filled her heart with something, but a sad thought remained, **"I didn't even get his name...I wanted to say thanks…."**

Izuku had similar thoughts in his mind as they walked slowly towards his aunt's house, he felt like a piece of him had been put back in place, only to be torn away from him once more. Before he could wallow in sadness, he felt a firm hand on his shoulder, that hand belong to his dad.

"Chin up son, you'll see her again, I just know it."

Izuku gave a sad smile at this, but nodded his head feeling something foreign fill his heart. He thought back to what he muttered to himself when he had first grabbed the rose, and wondered once more. **"Will she like something else from me? Even if it's an ugly grey?"**

_I cannot even describe how happy I feel about this chapter, though there were quite a bit of jumps, I felt it was essential for the plot, as well as getting to the parts that we all know and love. U.A. As Always. Have a wonderful, day, evening, and night._


	5. Chapter 5

_As Always. Enjoy._

Bound for One Another

"You know Deku, we are only doing this to show off to these extras right?"

Izuku and Katsuki were in a room, in this room sat many other students with their parents. Though the two boys were here for one reason only, to show the incoming schools exactly what they were made of, or at least, that was Katsuki's reasoning behind it.

Hisashi and Inko, sat besides Mitsuki and Masaru, chatting away as their sons sat off to the side. From what the parents could gather, Katsuki and Izuku had made a deal, that deal being when they got into U.A, it would be through the entrance exam, and not by way of recommendation.

The two had exceptional grades, Izuku being number one, and Katsuki number two. Which much to the others chagrin, angered him immensely. Katsuki did not have a single noncompetitive bone in his body, challenging his friend in almost anything. The two always saw each other as friendly rivals, always using each other to better one another, or even at times, get ahead of the game.

"Katsuki Bakugo." A voice rang out on an intercom above.

The two friends looked at one another, Izuku raised his fist towards his friend, Katsuki following suit in connecting them.

"Show them Kacchan." Izuku said determinedly, smiling at his childhood friend.

His friend scoffed, though smiled as he was making way towards the door that was being held open for him.

"Quit with the sappy shit nerd, but don't worry, they aren't ready for me." Katsuki said with a crazed gleam in his eye.

Izuku felt himself sweat drop at this, the whole purpose of these screenings, or as Izuku was told by his aunt, scoutings, was to help the process go a bit faster for applications into various high schools. Many students were here from his own prefecture, Shizuoka; the few middle schools from around numbered about five. Only the top twenty students from each school being allowed into these scoutings. However, the school reps mostly paid attention to the top two in a school. The top two usually within the same distance of each other grade wise, and not surprisingly said students quirk 'power' as well.

When it came to quirks, the reps were provided spreadsheets on the students, some catching their glances of course, but none other than two thirteen year old's from Aldera Junior High. One was of a student named Katsuki Bakugo, his quirk simply named explosion. To the many watching, they figured with a name like that, it was obvious to what Bakugo's quirk could do. Though some looked back to their spreadsheets as Bakugo made it onto the stage, the next student after him, Izuku Midoriya, had a unique name for his quirk.

To the reps, business men and women, and professors from support schools, the name sounded so different from what many other students would name their quirks. 'Medusa's Embrace' was something a good amount of them were looking forward to seeing. None other than Nemuri Kayama, who at the moment was seated at U.A's designated table, looking out towards the stage, with one of her old friends and fellow teachers, Present Mic.

"Hey. My name is Katsuki Bakugo, and prepare yourselves. My quirk is called explosion." He bragged to the audience before him. The hero school reps leaned into their seats looking to the teenager in anticipation. The others, being support and the business department, just looked on in mild curiosity. His quirk would not be beneficial for business that was for sure, not to mention as a support student, 'explosion' could have its benefits; but a quirk that most likely destroyed things would be bad for everyone's health in the usual tight workshop rooms.

Katsuki did as they had instructed him earlier. He was only allowed to 'flare' out his quirk, not attack, showboat; just use his quirk for thirty seconds and that was it. It pissed him the fuck off.

So with a scowl all throughout his face, he merely let out a couple of big explosions in the theater room, looking on in joy as many of the watchers winced, covering their eyes and ears from the noise and flashes of his quirk. Then with a small bow he did not want to give, he made is way off the stage, heading to the side exit.

He did not look towards the reps above, already knowing for a fact they were impressed by his power alone, and he did not even get to use the full brunt of it.

"God damn! Did you see that boys power Nemuri!?" Her overly eccentric friend shouted, right by her ear no less.

"Knock it off." She said while smacking him on the head. "I'm right next to _you, _you dunce."

Present Mic grumbled as he rubbed the comical looking bump forming on his head.

Many did look on in wonder at Katsuki's display, writing down on their notes below furiously at what the boy had shown them. He was definitely promising, and he was going to get letters from various schools, as well as a sheets for recommendations. Judging from the minor chatter that filled the room, he was the talk of everyone's mind at the moment.

As Katsuki made way towards his parents, they gave him a small applause, big smiles on their faces.

"Well I'll be damned brat. You sure showed them huh?" His mom had commented.

Katsuki scoffed. "Pfff, of course they would be impressed, I'm fucking awesome."

Masaru laughed at his sons colorful retort. "Son, you are awesome, but watch your language." He said pointing to his mother beside him, who was shaking in fury. "Or she might just wash your mouth with soap again."

Katsuki blushed a little as he looked away, irked at what his mom tried doing whenever he cursed, and something he would not admit to others she was successful on doing a few times.

"Izuku Midoriya." Called the same voice from the intercom.

Izuku took a deep breath. He looked towards his parents, offering them a small smile. Which followed with them returning it, Hisashi giving him a thumbs up.

"Go gettem kiddo."

Izuku made way towards the open door leading to the stage, but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Katsuki giving him a glare.

"You better fucking do what you promised Itsuka and I."

Izuku gave a nervous smile to his friend, nodding his head.

"Yeah, yeah Kacchan, I know, I promised after all." Izuku said, rubbing his hands together.

His best friend gave him one last look before walking back to his parents.

"You fucking better. You can't keep living in the past and shit, show them your quirks potential." He then gave pause. "Also if you don't do it I'll tell Itsuka, and I'm sure she will kick your ass for me at the dojo."

Izuku paled at the thought, as Itsuka herself was preparing for U.A she had been given the choice to be 'scouted out' per say, but opted out for personal reasons. Aiming instead to take the entrance exam in a years time. Something all three of them were preparing for more than they already have been doing.

If Izuku had to guess, it was about two months ago when he had brought Itsuka along to practice with Katsuki and him. She pestered him nonstop about wanting to come along just once, and after the constant asking, the boy could only take so much. **"Kacchan was fucking pissed." **Izuku chuckled to himself while entering the door, walking to the open stage before him. He heard the small conversation of the room die down as he made way to the center of the stage.

Izuku stood straight, the lights from above blaring into his eyes, he put his hands in his pocket, scanning the crowd before him nervously. He immediately noticed his auntie Nemuri sitting by the front row, excitedly waving over to him; something the others in the room noticed. Izuku offered her a small nod in return; finally gulping, he prepared himself for what he promised his two best friends days ago.

"My name is Izuku Midoriya, and my quirk is called Medusa's Embrace."

At this, just like with Bakugo from earlier, many of the hero school reps sat forward in their seats, looking towards him expectantly. This time though the whole room sat interested, staring down the boy as if he were a prized cow up for auction, just to be slaughtered.

Izuku retracted his hands from his pockets; with care, he took off his gloves throwing them off to the side. He could not risk trying to stuff them in his pockets, as the contact would slowly encase his shorts. Which was an extremely uncomfortable feeling to deal with. His doctor had offered him quirk resistant clothing, though with a heavy price tag attached to them. It was not within his family's budget, something Izuku was grateful for; he could not imagine having his parents having to pay for the special clothing.

Izuku took a deep breath, he had come a long way since his visit at the restaurant with his family. Though only a years time, Izuku had mastered his quirk in a multitude of ways. One of the ways he was about to showcase, would make them all look on in wonder or fear. Something Izuku tried convincing himself would hopefully be the latter. Itsuka had given him confidence, telling him everything would be alright in the end. Katsuki on the other hand, told him it would strike fear into the reps eyes, but it would be one of respect for his power. Just like how they did with his explosive quirk.

The room grew anxious as Izuku had been standing completely still, breathing in and breathing out. Then it happened.

Izuku immediately put both of his hands to the stage floor below; and with speed that seemed unimaginable, the stage turned grey, as the stone rapidly took over. Izuku felt the pain in his palms, followed by the tingling sensation that always came with the use of his quirk; and just as fast as he placed his hands down, he removed his hands from the floor below.

He felt himself slightly gasp, but held it together. His hands _ached_ as he looked out to the reps before him. They all had looks of shock on their faces, and the few looks of horror he saw made his heart pang slightly. What Izuku had done was something he had been practicing for the last two months.

While activating his quirk, he realized if he concentrated hard enough, he could control the flow and direction in which his quirk traveled. He encased the whole stage behind him, and flowed his quirk forward, having the quirk grey out the area all around the reps. It caused immense strain on his head, and not to mention if he was not careful enough his hands would sting in agonizing pain.

The reps sat in a large circle filled with the normal color one would see, while all around them was just pure grey. Some of the braver few, delicately reached out, touching the stones rough and cold texture.

Izuku looked towards his aunt, who had a large devilish smile on her face, Present Mic who sat next to her looked like he tried releasing a scream, but failed to do so. He had never showed his family this, or anyone for that matter. The only two souls who knew how far Izuku had come were Katsuki, and Itsuka.

Izuku then took another deep breath, touching his hands together. The reps looked around in confusion at the odd sound emanating from all around them. They saw how the grey of the stone crumbled away, slowly revealing the normal color that was in the room beforehand. Some debris laid about the room, the rest slowly dissipating into an imaginary wind.

Izuku picked his gloves off the floor, putting them back on once more. He looked towards them, and gave a small bow, walking straight off the stage; back into the common room to the looks of shock from his parents, aunt and uncle, and the few families that had stayed behind. His best friend on the other hand, had a wicked smile on his face.

If Izuku would have looked towards the TV behind him, he would see how frantic the viewing room was in. Varying reps taking down notes, others talking on their cellphones frantically.

Izuku did not care for that however, he felt pretty good at what he had just done. He had put in so much hard work, that he now felt his quirk was in a good place. A place he felt properly hid his emotions to others, a place that he felt made him feel safe; but in reality Izuku was a melting pot of emotions. There was a lot he was not telling anyone.

* * *

_Two Months Ago_

_Izuku had just finished his usual morning mile with Katsuki, however an extra guest had joined them on the run. Itsuka Kendo easily kept up with the two boys, as endurance was her greatest strength. She was confused at first why they were at a garbage dump, only to realize this was a beach. Puzzled she looked to the two boys, one of which had been giving her a scowl the whole time. She did not know what was up with Izuku's friend Bakugo, but his angered stare aggravated her to no end. _

_Izuku had noticed the tension between his two friends, though it was mainly Kacchan who was making it hard for the oranged haired girl. Katsuki rarely called anyone by their name, or last name for that matter. If you had not proven yourself to the boy, you were just another extra in the way of his conquest to be number one. What had worried Izuku however was what Kacchan had nicknamed Itsuka; this was the first time they were meeting each other, but from what Katsuki 'lovingly' named her from their previous talks, Izuku paled at the prospect of her hearing it for the first time. _

_Whenever Izuku would tell Katsuki about his time at the dojo, he rarely cared about anything Izuku had to say. Though Katsuki was happy his friend was finally turning into a man, and 'not a fucking pussy' as he had told him. _

"_Hey 'man hands', don't get in my way when I'm practicing my quirk." _

_Izuku paled looking towards his other friend, she had turned around from admiring the amount of garbage that filled the beach. The way she turned around slowly was ominous, as a dark aura radiated from her very being. _

"_Excuse me Bakugo, mind running that by me again." Itsuka seethed out. _

_Itsuka never let the comments of others get to her. She had been bullied all through middle school, if one were to even call it bullying. The girls who would gossip about her would spread some of the nastiest rumors about her, but whenever Itsuka would confront them about it, they would stay quiet and 'cry wolf'. So she stopped giving a fuck all together. Keeping a close group of friends who stuck by her through everything. Izuku was one of them, and with how Izuku always painted his friend in a positive light, albeit having an attitude problem, she always assumed they would become friends as well. _

_But BOY was she wrong, she took immense insult at his comment as this person was Izuku's friend, and Izuku was always so sweet and nice to her. How could he be friends with such an asshole?_

_The smart thing Katsuki should of done was apologize, or not repeat what he had said; but Katsuki was not a pussy, he stared into Itsuka's eyes once more, his glare intensifying. _

"_What are you retarded? I said. Stay out of my way, while I practice my quirk, MAN. HANDS."_

_Izuku felt himself anger at what his childhood friend said, Katsuki had crossed a line with that comment. Before he could say anything, Izuku felt Itsuka place a hand on his shoulder, a new look adorning her face. _

"_Alright I understand perfectly. I'll make sure to stay out of your way 'Limp-Dick', as you use your pathetic overcompensating quirk." _

_Izuku gasped, looking at her in shock, though he felt himself keeping his laughs in at what she had said. Izuku had never heard her cuss, the closest being words like 'damn' and 'crap'; but here she was swearing like a seasoned sailor. Katsuki on the other hand was LIVID. _

"_Mind running that by me again 'man hands'?" He said, his right eye twitching slightly, his palms held upward with sparks coming off of them. _

_Itsuka looked to the Katsuki, rolling her eyes. "Wow, and you said I was retarded. Hopefully you can get the shit out of your ears this time 'Limp-Dick." _

_Katsuki could have sworn he felt a blood vessel pop. _

"_I will stay out of your way while you practice that pussy ass excuse of a quirk you have." She repeated. _

_Itsuka felt a little excited actually, never in her life had she ever used such colorful language. It felt liberating to do so, but with the circumstances she found herself in she felt Bakugo deserved everything she said. She was not a mean person after all, but talking to this asshole like this filled her with immense pleasure. _

_Katsuki had a crazed look in his eye, slowly walking over to Itsuka, "You better not fucking cry to your daddy when I kick your shit in." _

_Itsuka grimaced, "Ugh, to think I'm gonna have to touch you to kick your teeth in, is this the first time a girl has ever laid her hands on you Limp-Dick?" _

_Katsuki smiled, not a friendly one either; this smile screamed murder and suffering to whomever it was aimed towards. Izuku took this as his queue to step in, putting himself between the two._

"_Seriously guys knock it off. Katuski stop being a dick, and you know you're being one." He turned towards Itsuka. "And Itsuka, I'm sorry with what my friend said, he means good, he really does… even though he can be a dickhead all the time." _

"_AND WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TALKING TO ME LIKE THAT DEKU?!" Katuski raged out. _

_Izuku winced at the volume of his friends voice, but he did not back down. "Seriously come on Kacchan." He said, returning to his childish nickname for his friend. "Look just….for once just calm down man, we are all friends here? Please dude?" Izuku begged out. _

_Katuski grew redder with rage before taking a deep breath, turning around to the garbage. "Fucking Deku, defending your stupid girlfriend. Alright fucker I'll let it be for now, and you." He pointed to Itsuka. "We are settling this later, one way or another." _

_Katsuki walked to a pile of cars, ready to use his quirk to its maximum potential to help vent out his anger. _

"_*tssskk* Dick." Itsuka scoffed as he walked away. _

_Izuku sighed at this, this was already a terrible start to his two friends first meeting, and he felt a headache coming on. _

"_I really am sorry Itsuka, Kacchan is a jerk, but he really does mean well, and he takes a lot to get used to…" He paused. "If you want to leave I understand, even I won't defend the way he talked to you, it angered me too." _

_Itsuka felt her anger leave at her friends heartfelt apology, not for something he did, but for what his friend did. Itsuka gave him a tired, and annoyed smile. _

"_Look Izuku, I know how important these secret trainings are for you, I mean using your quirk in public is illegal remember that." She sighed. "But you're quite literally my closest friend, and if it means I have to befriend that dick head then so be it. Though I will not play nice." _

_Izuku smiled to his friend, running up to her and hugging her with all his might. _

"_I'm so sorry Itsuka, but thank you, it really means a lot knowing I'm worthy of such a friendship. Kacchan will come around I just know it." Izuku meant everything he said, Itsuka was his closest friend next to Katuski, and he would be torn apart if she decided not to be his friend anymore over this. _

_Itsuka felt herself blush slightly at the contact, though returned the hug all the same. "Look at you being all sappy again, but let go this is getting weird." She asked of him. _

_Izuku gave a hearty laugh at this, "Eheh sorry, I can't help it, thanks Itsuka." He paused, pointing with his thumb behind him. "Now let's go practice our quirks?" _

_Itsuka smiled, flaring her quirk up at the comment. "Lets."_

* * *

_Present_

Izuku sat at his family table eating dinner with his two parents. Instead of Katsudon like his father and himself always wanted. His mother finally got them to eat something else. It was just regular old ramen, with cuts of pork and beef, that had cooked perfectly in the broth. Conversation was light at the table, Izuku had asked how work was for his dad, while his mother talked about another trip to auntie Aiko's house for her birthday.

Something was on his parents minds however; as the conversations died down, the two adults looked at each other, asking an unknown question to one another. Their eyes spoke on what they had discussed about for the last few days, and Hisashi took this as his queue to ask their son what had been plaguing their minds.

"Hey Izuku, your mother and I have been talking…" Hisashi paused for effect.

Izuku looked towards his dad, mid slurp of some noodles held between his chopsticks.

"We wanted to ask why exactly you won't go through with the recommendation exam, and instead stick to the general exam?" Hisashi finally questioned out.

Izuku gulped the noodles he had on his utensils, looking at them in thought.

"Well it was Katsuki's and I's idea. We thought showing off our skills would benefit us in the long run, than going through recommendation."

"Benefit how?" Inko further questioned her son.

Izuku set his food and chopsticks down for now. Giving his parents his full attention.

"Well as you saw we showed off our quirks, to the reps of some of the best schools, as well as faces in business and support right?"

Both his parents nodded, silently letting on they understood what he meant.

"In doing so we for sure earned the eyes of all the reps, many of which, will send Kacchan and I letters in a few weeks." He paused looking at his parents to make sure they were following.

They nodded once more.

"It tells us just how valuable we are as future heroes, not only that, but in doing so we get an eye for the possible competition we might face in the general entrance exam."

Inko got confused by this. "Umm, what do you mean by that? If you took the recommendation exam and passed you would not have to worry about that..."

Izuku smiled at his mother's innocent question. "Well in each of those scouting's only two students will make it through by way of recommendation, which will allow them to take the recommendation entrance exam; however, in that exam there are twenty of the top students in all of Japan. Only five can make it through by way of recommendation to U.A."

His parents soon donned looks of realization.

"Which leaves fifteen of the top students in Japan, applying through the general hero exams now, as they failed the recommendation exam. However this ONLY pertains to hero course students, not counting the business or support course that others will take. Which leaves roughly three thousand students, who are the top, let's say ten, from their schools, who did not make the cut to get into the recommendation exam, all around Japan, competing for the limited number of forty in classes 1-A and 1B. Now we aren't even getting to the normal applicants let through by just applying and meeting the minimum requirements that U.A has, which averages about seven thousand applicants. So roughly ten thousand students are competing for forty slots. Three thousand of which like I stated earlier, are the top ten students from their respective schools. Oh! And don't even get me started on the foreign exchange student applications….FURTHERING…."

Okay, Inko and Hisashi were now lost again as their son continued his muttering spree. The numbers he was using made sense to them, but the way their son could easily go on a tirade was one of his more endearing traits. Thus Inko and Hisashi sat through a one hour lecture on why their son and his best friend, were taking the general hero entrance exam; both parents now regretting why they even asked in the first place.

Izuku finally concluded with a closing statement, one that would of easily summarized all they needed to know.

"Oh also, Kacchan and I just want to see who would score better on the exam, it also gives us a larger audience to show all the students there our power! Also more information for my notebooks!"

Inko and Hisashi sweat dropped at this. **"You should of just said that in the first place!" **They in syncly thought.

* * *

Setsuna Tokage sat at her desk in school, her head being held up by her hand. This was one of her least favorite classes, barely being able to stay awake. Even though she had a perfect grade in this class, she wondered how the teacher did not deduct points from her; as she daydreamed almost throughout the whole class. Setsuna hated, no, _loathed _English class with a passion. The words confused her, and in her honest opinion, those Americans had only one good thing going for them, and that was their food. Which made her wonder if she was a terrible person or not since not only Americans spoke English.

Needless to say, this class allowed her to day dream. She was now thirteen years old, still number one in her middle school, and she had mastered using thirty-five individual parts of herself by way of her quirk. She could be doing multiple tasks at once, and not even break a sweat. Setsuna was getting tired of the monotony of everyday junior high life. She still had another year to go before her application to U.A. would go through, or in this case till she was able to turn in her recommendations. She had gathered signatures from some pro hero's, who had seen her academic prowess in her district. They had also seen footage of her quirk from the scouting that many had praised her for having such a versatile quirk.

Her day was almost done, and soon school would be dismissed for the day; and with the weekend finally here she felt relieved to have a small break from the homework and stress of maintaining number one. Not like it would matter, she felt confident in the fact that she will remain at the top, and no one was even close to taking her standing.

"Una! Hey, are you even listening to me!?"

Oh right, Setsuna shared this class with her best friend, a friend she had known all through childhood.

Setsuna turned towards her friend, a confused look on her face.

"Oh, uh, what was that Toru?"

A pair of floating clothes looked like they puffed with air, before a sigh escaped from them. It was an odd sight to see that was for sure.

"As I was saying, did you still want to come over for movie night?"

Setsuna had forgotten about that, usually the two would watch a movie together every Friday night to unwind after a long day of school. Something they had been doing since they were children. However, as they grew older, it became harder and harder for them to plan accordingly for such activities.

"Oh yeah! Of course Toru, sorry about that, I had forgotten about that…" Setsuna said with a blush and an awkward smile.

Her invisible friend however, from what Setsuna could assume, shook her head though laughed at her expense.

"I swear Una, sometimes I wonder how you're number one." Toru said with jest.

Toru Hagakure was an eccentric and talkative girl. She grew up with Setsuna around the age of five, by then both of their quirks had developed. Toru and her parents had to move away from their original area in Tokyo as her father got a new job. Though she was invisible, Toru never let that stop her from making friends, and with this outgoing personality her and Setsuna had become the 'bestest' of friends. The prospect of floating clothes talking to her had unsettled Setsuna at first, but soon she warmed up to her and now they were like two peas in a pod. Both of which had dreams to get into U.A and become heroes together.

Soon the bell sounded off throughout the school and it's classrooms, signaling an end to a long hard day. Both the girls packed their bags as fast as they could, made it to their lockers to change out their shoes, and made their way out of the school.

"Hey Toru, is it cool if we stop by house first? I want to get a change of clothes."

Again, by the way her clothes moved, Setsuna assumed her friend nodded in agreement to her question.

"Of course Una! Plus I get to say hi to your parents!" Toru confirming what Setsuna had read.

"Thanks! Also we can look through some of the movies I have?" She questioned.

"Sounds good to me!" Toru agreed with.

The walk to her house was uneventful, just a pair of floating clothes and normal looking girl talking to on another. Typical in the wuirk filled world that was now Japan.

At the moment, Setsuna's parents were not home, something that made her friend really sad about. Something about them doing some errands by the main town.

"Awww, I wanted to say hi to them.." Her friend grumbled in sadness.

"Hehe, don't worry, next time we will have to movie night at my house?" Setsuna said, trying to ease her friend.

Toru, smiled at this, though Setsuna could not tell, but from how excited her friend jumped up and down about the idea, she assumed she liked it.

"Heck Yeah! Speaking of which…"

Setsuna did not like that tone of voice from her friend, it usually meant one thing, trouble.

"I wonder if you still have that…" Toru paused. "Gift that boy gave to you!"

Before Setsuna could stop her, her friend dashed down her hall, busting down her door with power that rivaled some of the pros. Setsuna chased after her, a huge red blush forming on her face as she reached her door.

Toru was next to her nightstand, on it sat a digital alarm clock, as well as a vase. Inside the vase was the rose the green haired, freckled boy had given her. Setsuna grew redder in the face; she always kept it by her bed as sometimes at night she liked to hold it to her chest. Much like a teddy bear, but she would not fall asleep with it in fear of it breaking. It was touched by that boys quirk, and from what she could tell it was the finest of stones that surrounded the flower. She appreciated the attention he had put into it in the spur of the moment. She felt herself smile at the memory as her friend giggled in excitement.

"Ohhh! You still have it! That's the cutest thing ever!" Toru had squealed out.

Setsuna had her signature toothy grin on full display as she scratched her head in embarrassment.

"Ummm, Yeah I still have it why wouldn't I?" She wondered.

Her friend faced her, her hands behind her back as she swayed on her heels.

"Hmmm, because by you having it still, you admit to liking this mysterious boy still, hmmmm?!" Her friend teased.

Setsuna felt her face get hotter, but smiled all the same.

"Hehe, so what if I do? If anything I want to thank him for it.." She paused looking away in thought. "Wherever he is."

The thought always made her sad. Their time together had been interrupted by a villain attack, and during the evacuation the cops had to forcefully move everyone about. Setsuna and her family were pulled to the parking lot, while the boy and his family to the other side by the park.

Ever since then, that was the last time she ever saw of him. She had gone by the plaza many a time with her family, or Toru, but she never saw him. She had even gone by the park on walks if she had the time to do so, and again she never saw him. It was like he had just disappeared from existence; and the thought left a sour and bitter taste in her mouth. Who ever that villain was Setsuna had a few choice words she wished to have expressed to them.

Setsuna walked over to the vase herself, taking the rose into her hands. Toru remembered how Setsuna had told her how such a thing came into her possession. A mysterious green haired boy had been trading glances with her all night at a restaurant. Something that Toru found beyond adorable; her friend rarely ever showed affection or that sort of attention to other boys at their school. She mainly was affectionate towards her parents or 'girlfriends'; Setsuna was stuck on this boy for some reason, though Toru respected her friends take on it, and wondered how she had gotten so smittened.

However Toru could not blame her, as if she found herself in a similar situation, Toru was sure she would have felt the same way. So in a way Toru did understand her friend in a hypothetical kind of way, but as for experience on the matter, Setsuna was all on her own.

Toru had felt the silence go on for long enough however, she grabbed her friend by her shoulders, startling Setsuna slightly.

"You know shame on that boy for leaving a maiden such as you all alone, leaving her wondering why her knight has abandoned her." Toru somewhat bitterly said. Wherever this guy was, she wanted to give him an earful and how leaving a girl hanging was equivalent to 'torture'.

Though this had the desired effect as Setsuna broke out into laughter, shaking in her friends grasp.

"Ohh man, I swear Toru you just know what to say. Anyways." Setsuna set the rose back into the vase. "Let's see what some low budget films my parents have in their room?" Her smile had returned.

Toru smiled back. Something Setsuna knew she was doing for once.

"Oh low budget films?! It's like we're best friends or something!" Her friend quipped.

"Only the 'bestest' of friends you dork." She said back.

So the two left her room, Toru leading forward while talking happily about some terrible movies she had at home as well. Setsuna went to close the door, giving one last look at the rose, as the sun's rays from her bedroom window shone upon it. **"Maybe one day.."**

* * *

The three friends that were Izuku, Itsuka, and Katuski sat on top of a broken down car, looking out over the ocean that was Dagobah Beach's shoreline. They had just finished another day of quirk training, and all three of them were satisfied for job well done. The sounds of the waves crashing onto the littered shore was music to their ears, the nice calming breezing refreshing as their clothes stuck to their bodies, onto their skin. Overall the three just sat enjoying each other's company, something that two of which would of thought having not been possible. Izuku however knew that Kacchan would come around, and Itsuka would forgive their mutual dickhead of a friend.

Itsuka had to admit though, Katuski was still mean spirited, but as she got to know him better she realized that that was just how the boy was. He was not a dick to be mean and bully others, he was just an asshole plain and simple. An asshole who greatly valued his friends, and one who respected those who proved themselves to him. Something Itsuka had actually done in a relatively short amount of time; a memory she was fond over, but felt sad about as it involved the pain of a certain green headed boy.

The three of them knew a lot about each other that not even their parents knew about. They told each other about their qualms in life, struggles with themselves, even how scared they were about the coming U.A. hero exam. Something that Katuski had a very hard time admitting to, but they trusted each other, and their problems were each other's if applicable. They trained day in and day out whenever it was possible, and Katuski was the one always pushing themselves to do better, while threatening them with violence of course.

The one thing Itsuka could never convince Katuski to do however, was join her and Izuku at her father's dojo. Katuski would 'politely' decline in his own way, usually stating, "he did not want to participate in that 'weeb shit'". It irked her, but she grew to accept this fact and never pushed it on him, if anything only to ruffle his feathers when he was particularly moody.

Itsuka looked towards her close friends a smile on her face. She could have never thought befriending this green haired timid boy, and rambunctious over the top blond, would be one of the greatest choices she made in her life thus far. Such differing personalities from each other and they all got along swimmingly as time progressed. Izuku felt her gaze as he looked towards her, tilting his head slightly.

"You alright Itsuka?" He questioned.

Itsuka simply smiled as she looked back out onto the beach, resting her head on her knees as they all sat.

"I was just thinking to myself; how in the hell did I befriend two of the weirdest boys I have ever met in my life?" It was an honest question, one that got Izuku thinking, while Katuski immediately answered without hesitation.

"Because we fucking rule. Of course you'd want to be our friends since you were lacking the 'cool' factor." Katuski said while crossing his arms.

Itsuka smiled at his remark, "You know Katsuki, maybe you're right. You guys are really cool, no matter how annoying you both can be."

Katuski gave a nice hearty laugh at this, while Izuku still found himself lost in thought. He always wondered why they got along so well . He was timid, kind, but filled with self-doubt. Itsuka was outgoing, friendly, and confident in her stride. Katuski was loud, proud, and hotheaded. They were everything that any sane person would not want to be friends with in whatever category they fit in; but against the odds they just got along with each other.

Finally Izuku spoke.

"I really appreciate you guys. I know how you two feel about being sappy and stuff, but I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, for being my friends."

Surprisingly Katuski was the first to respond, and not in the way the other two would of thought he would have.

"You know what Deku you're right. I rarely say it so this will be the only time I will, so listen up losers. Thanks. I appreciate you both, no matter how much you piss me off."

Itsuka and Izuku smiled that this, Itsuka took this as her turn to give thanks as well.

"Thank you for being my friends you two. No matter how much we get under each other's skin, I know we have something here that will last a lifetime." She said with a smile.

Katsuki laughed at this while Izuku grinned from ear to ear.

"Damn Itsuka, I think you win with the sappiest thing I've ever heard." Izuku joked.

"I stand corrected, still getting under my skin." She jokingly retorted back.

They looked back to the ocean once more. It was almost time for the fated day. The U.A. exams were only a year away, and all three of them felt determined to get into U.A., and continue their journey together. Unknown to the trio, many like them were sharing the same sentiments. The exams were almost here, and soon they would have to prepare for something that would either make them, or break them.

As for Setsuna Tokage, she was trying to prepare herself for what would be the recommendation exam. She knew that those through recommendation took the test two months before everyone else, and of the twenty students in the test, only five will make it. She clutched what was in her hands tighter, looking up at the blackness of her ceiling. With a small sigh she returned the rose back into the vase, turning on her side, facing towards it.

She wondered where that boy was and if they would ever meet again. Though their time was cut short, she felt somewhere deep in her heart this was only the start of a long adventure. One in which this boy would play a major part of. The two of them together for better or worse. **"Or so I hope."**

* * *

_Ten Months Later_

Setsuna's head was throbbing, she felt at any moment she was going to collapse from how much her head stung. It looked like her fellow examinees shared the same sentiments. Some of them laid on the floor, crying softly, others sat on the floor, their eyes staring off at nothing, devoid of all emotions. Others like a rather tall and attractive girl, and a boy with a scar on his face; stood stoic, not letting their emotions be shown. Others like a very energetic huge guy was chatting away excitedly to the others. In which only a slim few offered subtle conversation back.

Setsuna and this group had just finished the written exam, next up was the practical; something that made her nervous and very excited at the same time. From what Present Mic said, this year was going to be slightly different than compared to what they usually did.

So the examinees sat outside the exam room, waiting for further instruction. Instead of groups of six being sent out per each year prior, they brought the number down to five. For what reason, it was unknown to the maybe future students. The only thing that mattered to any of them was ensuring they were within that top five that made it through to the end. Even though fifteen of them would fail, they still had the chance to take the general hero exam in two months time.

"ATTENTION STUDENTS! CAN I GET A WHOA-YEAH?!" Exclaimed a voice suddenly.

All twenty examinees groaned at the sudden loud disturbance, some putting their hands to their heads to ease the pain.

Present Mic was met with a resounding nothing as he addressed the students as such, now realizing the condition the recommended students were in.

"Hahah! Alright tough crowd like always. ANYWAYS! Will the examinees, 10, 16, 6, 20, and 2 come forward please.

Setsuna felt herself jump when her number was called, as she walked up, she stood next to a three guys, and a girl like herself. They had varying appearances that she could not process fast enough as they were hit with a bombshell.

"Well as you know maybe future students, only five of you will make it into U.A. by way of recommendation. Usually we run with six students at a time, but we dropped the number down to five this year adding more of a challenge and prestige to this exam." He took a breath. "Which leaves us in a pickle; of each 'team' of five that goes in, only first place will advance to the interview part of the exam. So that will leave one unaccounted for as five of you must pass." He took another breath. "That last person will be determined by way of how you score during the test, be it your time of completion, or how you use your quirk. We judge EVERY little thing."

Many students felt themselves sweating now, those who were crying, cried more as the stakes were not only upped, but they were upped upped.

"So after all this hard work, only five of you will be interviewed, and even then! The person who interviews you is the last deciding factor for you all. So after all this hard work and dedication, someone else still makes the decision for you be it good, or bad." Present Mic finally concluded with.

"GOOD LUCK AND PLUS ULTRA!" With that the five examinees called up were quickly enclosed in a box, it soon disappearing into the ground.

Setsuna screamed in sudden fright as everything went dark, only to be blinded from the intrusive sunlight being thrown back into her face. As she slowly got her bearings, she noticed her fellow examinees were looking about in confusion just like her. They found themselves in a city, the test ground for what would be the practical exam.

"TESTERS!" A voice shouted from an intercom somewhere in the distance.

"YOUR TASK IS SIMPLE, WITHIN THIS THREE MILE LONG URBAN METROPOLIS IS THE FINISH LINE, OR IN THIS CASE THE PICK UP POINT. IT CAN BE ANYWHERE, IN FRONT OF YOU OR BEHIND YOU, TWO MILES AWAY OR A FEW FEET AWAY. YOU ARE ALLOWED TO USE YOUR QUIRKS ANYWAY YOU SEEM FIT. YOU MAY FIGHT OTHER STUDENTS IF NEED BE, BUT IF ANY USE OF EXCESSIVE MALICIOUS INTENT IS SHOWN YOU ARE DISQUALIFIED."

The five gulped at this, looking at each other worryingly. Setsuna felt her heart racing a mile a minute.

"THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE WINNER, BEGIN!" A horn blared.

Instantly Setsuna felt a sudden shock wave as a male tester before her stomped the ground with his leg, sending all of them flying away in varying directions. The boy who stomped the ground was fine however as he took off.

"No hard feelings guys! But a head start is a head start!" The voice shouted as it disappeared off into the distance.

Setsuna hit the ground hard, feeling the wind get knocked out of her. Whatever that guys quirk was it was ridiculously overpowered as an examinee to her left was already knocked unconscious.

"NUMBER 20 IS OUT!"

Setsuna felt a chill run down her spine. This was serious, and she needed to get her head in the game NOW.

As best as she could, she stumbled up slowly before making a mad dash in a random direction to get away from the other testers. For all she knew, the other two would take advantage of her weakened state to remove a competitor. So Setsuna ran for a solid ten minutes feeling herself get winded as she entered a building, quickly running up a few flights of stairs.

She collapsed onto the ground, tripping, throwing up her breakfast to the ground below, she felt sick, her body hurt, and she twisted her ankle in a direction it should have not gone.

She screamed in slight agony as she used her quirk around the wounded appendage, removing it from her body as it floated lazily besides her. She wiped the tears from her eyes, letting her ears stop ringing from the pain she felt moments ago.

"Come on Setsuna! Get your head in the game now!" She yelled at herself.

Although that proved to be a mistake as her a self inflicted pep talk, alerted one of the last three competitors to her whereabouts. Said competitor theorized that the best way to win in this needle in a haystack of goose chase, was to remove the competition all together.

Setsuna barely had time to react as she felt the building she was in start shaking rapidly, it felt exactly like the earthquakes they experienced in Japan like usual, but this was coming from an artificial source.

The only other girl examinee was using her quirk, to shake the building she heard the voice come from, her goal was to have it collapse onto the unknown victim inside. She grimaced at the idea though, hoping that the girl from inside would be unharmed, and this was merrily some simulated city.

Setsuna stood up shakily, as missing the bottom half of her ankle and foot proved almost impossible for her to balance herself in the building. Thinking fast she quickly split her body into twenty pieces, quickly floating out through an open window. The interesting thing about her quirk was she could essentially make herself float and become a sentient being of floating parts. It was something her quirk could do, and she silently thanked her mother as she exited the building.

No sooner as she floated out, the small complex collapsed in on itself, falling in a controlled manner. She heard the sudden yell from her attacker below, as they dashed away from the collapsing buildings.

Quickly Setsuna went charging at the girl, ready to go on the offensive as, she could now see it was the other girl, retreated from her mess.

The girl felt her whole upper jaw splinter in pain, as a wild hay maker was thrown at her face, courtesy of Setsuna's right arm.

The girl stumbled onto her knees slightly before righting herself up again, now facing her attacker.

Setsuna soon began her onslaught, attacking every way possible, the girl being blinded sided from the multiple offenses coming at her from every angle. As a last ditch effort the girl raised her hands in the air, releasing her quirk to the sky's and area around her.

Setsuna felt the ear splitting screech that came out of this girls hands that she floated her hands to her eyes, hoping to quell the disastrous attack.

Noticing a chance, the girl started running in the opposite direction hoping to lose her attacker, she knew she was outmatched, and with the way her quirk split into many tiny pieces, it was almost impossible to hit everything at once.

Setsuna knew better than to let a opponent get away however, as she quickly floated half her chest, which had her heart, and rammed it into the girls legs, causing her to trip.

As long as a vital organ was in one of the pieces it could act far away from her body, and as she had half her face follow the attack, it allowed her to see where to attack.

The girl fell face first onto the ground, blood seeping out her nose as she stood up slowly.

Her knees were all scraped up, and her body bruised from the multiple hits she took from Setsuna's quirk.

Setsuna grimaced at the damage she caused and quickly called out to her opponent.

"Y-Yeild!" Setsuna shakily let out.

The girl collapsed onto the ground her head hung low, "I-I-I yield…"

"NUMBER 6 IS OUT! ONLY THREE REMAIN!"

Setsuna let out a groan, if she thought her body hurt earlier, she wished she could go back in time to the building. **"Best keep off my feet now, I can only keep my quirk up like this for the next thirty minutes." **She thought to herself. She was NOT going to talk out loud like she did earlier again.

Leaving the girl where she was Setsuna, floated away at a steady pace, no one had found the finish line yet, and Setsuna had only covered literally 2% of the entirety of the city. It was literally a needle in a haystack scenario.

Before she could scream in frustration, the voice from the intercom called out once more.

"ATTENTION THE LAST REMAINING THREE. ENOUGH TIME HAS ELAPSED THAT A HINT WILL NOW BE GIVEN TO YOU."

Setsuna closed her eyes in concentration, splitting her ears apart to hear from multiple angles.

"LOOK UP."

Confused Setsuna did just that, only to see off in the distance a tall building standing proud, at the peak of it stood a green flag.

"**You got to be fucking kidding me." **She angrily thought to herself.

She was standing literally thirty feet from the building, and judging from the sounds coming her way, that meant the last two examinees were coming as well.

Springing into action, Setsuna willed a good amount of her quirk, eating up on the thirty minute time, and floated up towards flag above. All she had to do was grab it and she would w-

She felt an immense shake, much like the one from the start, shaking throughout the whole building. Then the building decided to give out, teetering over like a game of Jenga, and collapsed to the waiting street below.

"**How come in my test there are TWO FUCKS with moving quirks like this?!"**

Setsuna was pissed, she was annoyed, she was tired, her body hurt, and she did not know where her ankle and foot from earlier were. If she had to guess they laid on the ground somewhere as she was now too far from it.

The building hit the ground in a massive heap, sending dust and debris all throughout the metropolis. As the dust cleared, Setsuna noticed another tester had been knocked out from some of the falling debris, laying off to the side thankfully from the main building falling over.

"NUMBER 16 IS OUT! THAT LEAVES US WITH NUMBER 10 AND 2 FIGHTING FOR GLORY!"

This was it, the home stretch. All Setsuna had to do was grab the flag; but in the sea of carnage that was before her it seemed like an impossible feat. Something her last opponent was finding hard to do as well. Before Setsuna could continue her search, the earth from under her splintered and cracked, before exploding outward sending some of her parts flying. It was clear that the only way to win at this point, was to fight it out, till the last man standing. Setsuna shakily brought over whatever parts she had left and faced her opponent. She had half her face missing, her left arm was all the remained, split pieces of her chest, and her left leg with a familiar looking scar right at the knee. Her opponent spoke first.

"H-Hey listen just yield. You aren't looking to g-good."

Setsuna really wasn't looking to good she was quite literally on her last leg; but judging by how the boy before her was panting, and from the scrapes and bruises on his face, alerted her that she was not the only one struggling to stand. Though she only had half her face at this point, she smiled her famous toothy grin, now halved, towards her fellow competitor.

"Hehe, s-sorry dude, I would of preferred fighting it out you deserve that much, but I have already won."

Before the boy could even begin to think what she meant by that, the voice from above screeched to them both.

"NUMBER 2 TAKES THE FLAG! NUMBER 10 IS OUT! VICTORY GOES TO 2!"

The boys eyes grew in alarm looking around in a panic, only to see in the distance the flag being held by what looked like a floating piece of her.

Setsuna slowly collapsed onto the ground below her, she felt the familiar tug of the body parts that laid strewn about, courtesy of this boys last attack, slowly start retracting back into her body. Which looked comical as she still had parts missing, and she looked like some horrific mad scientists experiment.

The boy looked on in wonder as the girls other half of her face floated by, the flag being held by her mouth. Soon her last half connected and her face was now whole again, she released a sigh as she looked at the damage to her body. **"Yeah this is going to take a while to regenerate…"** Though that thought was interrupted by an angry voice, coming from a short old woman.

"I swear you kids are getting more reckless and reckless as the years go by!" Said woman shaking her cane angrily at the boy.

"Do you have any injuries?" She inquired to the boy.

He shook his head lightly.

"Then go back that way." She said pointing behind her. "And you will find the exit."

The boy did as he was told, though he held his head down in defeat.

Setsuna then felt the old woman look at her, approaching her next.

"What about you deary? I see you're missing some body parts, I would of had a heart attack if it were not for there being no blood around you." The old woman gently sneered.

Setsuna felt herself chuckle at what she said; but Setsuna was ecstatic! She had managed to get first place while facing off against the best of the best. She felt a strange sensation as the old woman kissed her on her cheek. She felt her whole body flood with energy, before most of her stamina was drained, leading her to slip into the unconscious world of darkness.

_Few minutes before_

_As Setsuna felt the impact of another attack from the last remaining opponent; the second half of her face was frantically searching the rubble. The interesting thing about her head was it was the only body part that could, next to her intestines, be split into pieces, as long as it had a good chunk of her brain in it. It was pretty gross to think about, but Setsuna thought in a last split second she would halve her face, leaving her right eye and half her mouth on the floating part, and search for the flag in a last ditch attempt for victory. _

_It was hard to focus with literal double vision evading her eyesight. One eye was facing her opponent, while the other was moving about rapidly looking for green in a sea of grey. Then as if the gods above blessed her very existence, she spotted a speckle of green peeking out way off in the distance. _

_She rushed as quickly as possible, barely keeping it together where her 'main hub' was keeping the boy occupied. Though it's not like she had to do much, the two simply looked at each other, in which the boy asked her to yield. She felt a little ashamed she was going to win in such a way, and not offer one another a victory through battle; but Setsuna was not going to let this guy, or anyone for that matter, get in her way from her final goal, U.A._

_With as much strength as a floating half face could do, she gripped the flag in her teeth, tugging with all her might to pull it out from the debris that lay on top of it. With one final tug, the flag was ripped out of its prison, now being held within half her mouth. The voice from above soon announced her victory, as her 'main hub' collapsed to the ground. She felt her body beckon for her as she lazily floated back to her body. _

_Setsuna had done it! She got first place ensuring her right to move on to the next phase! __**"This is it….only one last thing stands in my way…" **__She finally thought to herself as she fell unconscious._

* * *

Roughly four hours have now passed by, the winners of the practical now sat about in small waiting room. All avoiding eye contact, even going so far as to not talk to one another. Setsuna was stressed out, by now her body had fully recovered, albeit being a little bit sore; what had her stressed out however was the interview she was going to be having with one of the teachers here at the school. They were called one at a time, and as the boy with the scar on his face, as well has the different colored hair walked out of the room. It signaled that the next person was to go up, that being Setsuna.

She gave a weak groan as she tiredly carried her body into the other room, she had no idea what to expect, who the teacher would be, or how many of them would be talking to her. For all she knew behind this door laid an auditorium filled with the faculty of U.A, ready to pierce her very soul with their hard gazes.

Though what laid before her was a calm normal looking room with two chairs sitting at a table facing each other. In one of those chairs sat a beautiful and voluptuous woman who was smiling right at her.

"Well look at you Miss Tokage, how the years have been kind to you~" The woman teased.

Setsuna blushed at the friendly comment, she bowed towards hopefully her future teacher.

"Midnight-Sensei, it's good to see you again."

"Come! Take a seat Miss Tokage, we have much to discuss." Midnight said, a playful gleam in her eye.

Setsuna did as she was told and sat facing her, she didn't know why, but the way Midnight's eyes looked at her made her uncomfortable. She was scanning everything about her, from her face, her hair, and to her eyes.

"You seem a little stress sweetie, relax! I don't bite~"

The way she said it made it sound otherwise, but Setsuna took a deep breath, calming her nerves.

"Now in these interviews I ask you some questions, and you must answer them honestly okay?"

She nodded her head.

"Great! Now first question is this, why U.A?"

"Ever since I was a kid, knowing amazing heroes such as All Might, Thirteen, Snipe, and many more, not to mention you of course…" She trailed.

"Flattery can get you pretty far Miss Tokage, but please continue." Midnight joked back at the small praise.

"Well seeing such amazing heroes come from such a prestigious school like this, also knowing that many of them got in through recommendation, like you…"

"Yes, yes butter me up more!" Midnight chuckled out.

"W-Well I want to be like you, like every amazing hero that has come from out of this school. I want to save everyone with a smile on my face!" She shouted out the last part, having to breathe in and breathe out. She did not know why but she got a little passionate at the end there.

Midnight's smile grew tenfold as this reminded her of a certain 'nephew' she had watched grow up. Though he never said it anymore, or much of how he felt much about anything anymore, she knew All Might and his smile was still important to him. The thought made her sad, her little Zu was suffering in silence it seemed, and no matter how much everyone pestered him about it, including herself, he never told anyone how he felt other than his two friends. Anyways. Midnight liked Setsuna's answer, checking off on a mental list.

"Amazing answer Miss Tokage, such passion is exactly what U.A looks for. Now to the next question."

Setsuna looked up to her expectantly.

"Usually I would ask 'why do you want to be a hero', but you answered that question already. Which leaves us to the last question."

Setsuna found that odd, she would of felt this would of been more stressing, she felt she should of been asked more questions, though thought better than to jinx it.

"If I don't pass you and I fail you through recommendation, what will you do then?"

Setsuna flinched a little at the question. That's right, Midnight quite literally held her fate at the palm of her hand, even though she put in all this work, she could still be eliminated from the running. Setsuna gulped at the question, but she knew the answer to that question already. Though she did not want to take that path way, she told herself nothing was going to get in her way of getting into U.A.

"If I fail through the recommendation exam, I'll be even more determined while taking the general hero exam to get into this school. No matter what I WILL get into U.A."

"Right answer." Midnight 'congratulated'.

Setsuna smiled herself, displaying her sharp canines for all to see, which got Midnight thinking, matching Setsuna with a mischievous smile in return.

"That will conclude our interview, BUT I would like to ask a more personal question Miss Tokage if you would?"

Setsuna looked towards the hero puzzled, but nodded her head nonetheless.

"Great!." She paused, looking towards her future student, and maybe something more to her family? Fate had a weird way of deciding things, and Midnight was a romantic, she could easily picture Izuku and Setsuna together. "What do you want with my nephew, hmmmmmm?"

Setsuna looked at her in complete confusion, not knowing where that question could of possibly come from.

"I'm sure you remember it Miss Tokage, but I was at a certain restaurant with my family, and you were eating with yours there as well, yes?"

Setsuna nodded her head, of course she would remember that day, that's the day she met that familiar looking boy…. **"WAIT."** She quickly thought to herself, a look of realization now on her face.

"Ahh~ it looks like the little lovebird remembers." Midnight cooed.

At being called a lovebird, and remembering what had happened that day Setsuna felt her face flush, she suddenly felt hotter, and tried fanning her face with her hand hoping to quell the heat that now graced her whole body.

"H-H-He's your n-nephew?!" She squeaked out.

Midnight nodded her head, smiling brighter at the teenager before her.

"Yes my lovely and precious nephew! Who all throughout that dinner was sharing looks with you….and I gotta say it made me a little but jealous~" Midnight was only teasing, but judging from the look of horror that took over her face, she realized that maybe she should of dialed it down a bit.

"Oh my g-god! Midnight-sensei! I-I-I'm sorry!" Setsuna did not know why she was apologizing, she felt for some reason she had angered the hero now turned educator.

Midnight tried her best to quell the situation but failed to do so; she was literally laughing out loud.

"O-OH! Forgive me Miss Tokage.." She trailed off, having to take a deep breath. "I was merely joking!" She said, hoping it would calm the teenager.

Setsuna blushed harder, wiping sweat from her brow as she slowly relaxed.

"I'm sorry Miss Tokage that was unprofessional of me." Midnight said, though she still offered the young teen a kind apologetic smile.

"I-It's okay.." Setsuna paused. She felt a huge relief wash over her shoulder, the last thing she needed was a doting aunt attack her over her own nephew.

"Hmmm, you know that boy is still hung up on you right?"

Setsuna felt herself sputter.

"E-Excuse me?" Setsuna asked, wondering if her ears were playing tricks on her.

"Oh? My nephew I know for a fact still thinks about you, what has it been roughly two years since you two have seen each other?" Midnight said while putting a finger to her chin in mock thought.

"Ummm, Midnight-sensei, If I may ask what's his name?" She grew confident, maybe she would finally get to meet this boy at last! However, Setsuna's heart was racing, she felt her face getting warmer, if that was even possible.

"His name? Well now that would spoil all the fun Miss Tokage~"

Before Setsuna could resort to begging the pro hero, Midnight held a hand up to her face, smiling still.

"However I will say this, you two will _definitely _see each other soon enough, and when you do, oh I sure hope someone has a camera!"

Setsuna felt herself smiling, one of those goofy smiles that hurt your face, and made you feel all bubbly on the inside. The words Midnight told her made her look forward for what the future entailed.

* * *

"Well you fucks, you better not fail."

Izuku, Katsuki, and Itsuka stood in front of the gates of U.A, it was finally time. After so much training, so much blood, sweat, and tears put into themselves, the three looked noticeably different. Izuku stood a bit taller, stronger physique, sculpted like a Greek statue. His hair was trimmed slightly, no longer looking like someone laid a mop on his head and called it a day. Overall Izuku Midoriya looked completely different from that boy all those years ago, who had not trained a single part of his body.

With constant determination, his friends Katuski and Itsuka pushing him, no pushing each other, his body was in its physical prime. His parents pushed him to reach his goals, they gave him love and affection, feeding him food that would benefit his body and mind, his aunties offered their own love and support, providing him with all that he asked. Which he rarely asked of them if anything, or anyone. They stood strongly and proudly in front of the gates, and at Katsuki's comment the two chuckled.

"Well Katuski the same applies to you, don't 'fucking' fail." Izuku said, feeling weird with the foreign word leaving his tongue.

"Well look at that, Katsuki you made the cinnamon roll say a curse word! I'm impressed." Itsuka joked.

The three friends laughed as Katsuki made his way towards the building, his hands stuffed deep into his pockets.

"I mean it you 'extras'." Katsuki joked out, which was rare to begin with.

The two laughed as Itsuka followed soon after walking forward, she had to go through a separate entrance, as she was from a different school district. So she had to be in her designated area.

Izuku took a deep breath, bringing his hands up to his face. He had chosen the color green today, hoping the positive color would bring him luck. He still had his many doubts, even after all these years his mother's face still plagued his mind. Everyone was constantly pushing him to be better, they pushed him to be a hero and to achieve his goals. Everyone, especially his family, was counting on him. He looked to the golden letters above that spelled out 'UA', and felt some sense of pride wash over him.

"Well I guess I made it, who would have thought?" He said to himself.

Even though he felt this sense of pride, especially with his two friends before him entering the building, he wondered one last thing to himself as he walked in. **"Why does everything still hurt, why is everything still so grey?" **There was a lot Izuku Midoriya was not telling his family; and it was questioned to the air itself, how long could he keep this _charade_ up? Before his touch itself, and his sanity cracked at the seams?

* * *

_Though a lot of flash forwards were used, it will all be revealed in time and ESPECIALLY things that happened in between. Namely the painful memory Itsuka has with Izuku, the same memory that earned her the respect from Katsuki. When that will happen is up for debate, though I have many ideas. Sorry for the slow update, but the next one is going to be even slower, work has a way of getting in the way of ones hobbies. **I hope you all have a wonderful, day, evening, or night.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_Subtle violent descriptive language warning. It only happens about three times, but I felt was needed to express emotions properly. As Always. Enjoy._

* * *

U.A is for: U And Me

"_Okay mom, dad! I'm heading out now!" _

"_Be careful Izuku, please call us if you three need anything!" A feminine voice called out to him. _

"_Of course mom!" _

"_Izuku! Please be safe, have another good day of training son." A masculine voice called one last time. _

_With his father's final comment, Izuku closed the door behind him, running out of his apartment he shared with his two parents. It was just like any other day. _

_Izuku, Katsuki, and Itsuka were meeting up for another day of quirk training. Luckily Itsuka had stuck around long enough to where Katsuki would not outright verbally attack her on sight. He was slightly warming up to her, but she had not earned his respect whatsoever. She was just an annoyance who got in his way, and someone who held Iziku back; even though Izuku would practice with her at the dojo. At the moment, Katsuki Bakugo did not like Itsuka Kendo, he only put up with her for the sake of his best friend. _

_Izuku stopped by Kacchan's house first, meeting up with him there as they lived relatively close to one another. Waiting outside for him like always was his best friend, his hands in his pockets, and a scowl on his face as he looked towards his friend. _

"_It's about time Deku. Let me guess, 'Man Hands' is going to be joining us today." _

_It wasn't even a question, more like a statement he already knew the answer to. Izuku gave his friend a tired smile, nodding his head in confirmation. _

"_*Tsskkkk* Whatever lets just go." _

_Compared to other times, he would verbally let Izuku know his 'thoughts' and 'feelings' on her joining along; but Izuku saw it as progress that he did not outright curse Itsuka's very existence. And so the two walked along to the train station, it was about ten minutes away, and would be the meeting point Itsuka would be waiting for them. _

_Upon arrival, Izuku saw the girls signature orange hair; something he was always proud of noticing from miles away. He called out to his friend, allowing her to see them both and smile. She quickly ran over to them, wearing a backpack that usually had a spare change of clothes for anything that would come up. _

"_Hey Izuku!" She then begrudgingly turned to Katsuki. "Bakugo." She said through her teeth. _

"_Man Hands." He retorted. _

_Itsuka's face grew red with fury before she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. _

"_Never mind than, not playing nice it is "Limp Dick'."_

_Izuku sighed once more, guess it's better than nothing_

* * *

_Present_

As Izuku walked through the gates into U.A, he knew he should have felt proud. He knew he should have felt some kind of excitement, but the grey feeling from before was filling his very being. So much so, as he neared the entrance, he was so lost in thought, that he tripped, falling face first to the ground below. As he moved his hands to catch himself, he felt a strange feeling envelop him. He was floating for some reason, and judging from a sigh f relief besides him, it had to have been the doing of someone.

"Hehe got you…" A girlish voice cheered out.

Izuku felt himself being lifted back into place, and faced towards the girl.

"It wouldn't be good to fall on your first day right? It's like an omen! Sorry I used my quirk on you without permission though." She apologized.

Then Izuku experienced something interesting, suddenly he felt his feet touch the ground gently; but what really caught his attention was how the girl touched her fingertips together. By doing this, he was released from her quirk, just how his quirk worked, but her's felt so gentle and comforting. **"Like an Embrace"** He thought to himself.

"Umm anyways! Good luck! I'm sure you're here to take the exams like me!" With that, the girl took off to the building in front of them.

"Such a strange girl…" He said to himself.

Izuku looked down to his gloved hands once more, he felt perplexed and confused. He wondered how this girl's quirked worked, and curiously enough, why she did not wear gloves like him.

Adjusting them slightly, Izuku walked towards the building himself, finally joining everyone else. First things first was the written exam, something he knew he would score flawlessly in.

* * *

_The trio were jogging at a steady pace to the beach. Still to this day it had not been cleaned a single inch, something the three of them wondered about doing one day? Though they had thought about it, they decided against it for now as they still needed a secretive enough place to practice their quirks. _

_Something Izuku seriously needed as he was still behind his other two friends. He had made a lot of progress, at the moment he was trying to control the flow of his quirks, the way it traveled along objects better. _

_As usual, Katsuki went off doing his own training, Itsuka and Izuku stuck together in theirs, finding the company of one another enjoyable. As they reached their destination, not a single one of them was winded, it was like clockwork at this point; especially with the U.A entrances exams five months away, the three could have not been anymore ready, and nervous. _

"_Well I'll be at my usual spot. You two go make out or whatever you do." Katsuki said as he walked off. _

_The duo felt themselves blush at the thought, but grimaced at what he had said. _

"_Ugh! I swear Izuku I don't know how much more I can take." Itsuka groaned out. _

_Izuku sighed as well, annoyed by his friends remark just the same. _

"_I know Itsuka, but hey he's warming up to you." He said with slight hope in his voice._

"_Huh. I must be missing something because it feels the same the same tome." She shook her head in annoyance. _

"_Well let's forget about that for now, I think I finally made my breakthrough!" Izuku excitedly cheered. _

_Itsuka smiled at this, she knew exactly what he was alluding to. _

"_Oh? You think you finally have the control down?" She wondered. _

_Izuku smiled and gave her a nod. _

"_Yup! I just need to do my stretches and meditation beforehand, I don't want to pull a muscle like last time…" He trailed off with. _

"_Ha! I remember that! You were crying like a baby!" She teased. _

"_Oh Ha-Ha-Ha, if I remember just the other day when we spared at the dojo, you got a teary eyed when I smashed your face into the mat!" _

_Itsuka blushed at this, "Mine running that by me again 'student'?" She said through her teeth. _

_Izuku held his hands up in defeat, chuckling at the embarrassment of his friend. _

"_Yeah, Yeah, don't get your ponytail into a tighter knot than it already is." _

_Itsuka herself laughed at his retort, and the two friends smiled at each other, content with how their friendship was and stood. _

"_Anyways! Let's get to work?" She asked with excitement. _

_Izuku smiled even bigger, taking his gloves off and placing them to the side. _

"_Let's."_

* * *

_Present_

Izuku sighed as he walked with his two friends to the next building. Itsuka following her friends same feeling, while Katsuki grumbled on about how 'stupid' the written was.

The written test was not 'hard' per say, but Izuku did find some of the things asked on the test were at least beyond the college undergraduate level, it felt like a grad school exam if anything! And he did not even know how those tests were, he was just assuming.

Next up was the practical, something the two of them were really looking forward to, Izuku on the other hand felt different. He did not know what it entailed, but from what his aunt told him, it was going to involve robots and combat. **"Now that I think about it, I wonder if it was bad she told me this?"**. Whatever the case, Izuku felt his hands itch at the prospect of being used for combat. He had only used them for practical use; only to hone in on his skills and increase his stamina and quirk aptitude.

If he ever used his quirk to much, or reached a point he had never reached before; such as using his quirk on something bigger than a minivan, who knows what the implications would mean for the boy. If anything, he knew for a fact that it would fill him with agonizing pain, like it did that one time.

Izuku felt a small tug on his shoulder. Startled, he looked over to see Itsuka, a look of concern on her face.

"Izuku? What's wrong?" Her touch was delicate and gentle, it made Izuku feel sick.

Izuku gulped. The last thing he needed was to worry his friends, and judging how Kacchan was even looking in his direction, it made him feel so small.

"Ummm I guess I'm just nervous of what the next exam is going to be you know?" He hoped the answer would stop their eyes of scrutiny for now.

"Well if you say so, you know Katsuki and I always got your back dude. Plus the pamphlets given to us showed we are fighting something" She eased.

Itsuka was not stupid, nor was Katsuki. They knew for a fact something had been bothering Izuku, something still bothered him greatly. Even though he acted cool and collective, there was times that shell would crack, and in those splits, it was like his very soul was crying out for help.

It broke Itsuka's heart, she had been completely honest about her life, and her many problems. She had confided in Izuku and Katsuki with almost everything, yet her was this green haired boy who was keeping something to himself. Something she knew for a fact that was something you should NEVER deal with alone.

She knew everyone had their secrets, Hell she had a few, mainly dealing with more of the feminine parts of her life, but when it came to her two close friends, she was an open book.

Katsuki shared the exact same sentiments. Izuku's shell was something he had noticed for the last eight years. It had been building up, his emotions just piling on top, constantly shoving him deeper and deeper to the bottom.

When it was just the two of them, Katsuki had tried to get his friend to talk, and knew for a fact it had to do with is quirk, especially with what happened when he was four. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, and no matter how much it angered him, Izuku acted ignorant pretending everything was fine. There was only so much his two friends could do, before they had to force it out of him. Their friend was suffering in his own silence.

Whatever the case, Katsuki and Itsuka merely looked away for the moment, leaving their mutual friend to his own devices. One day he would tell them, being under good circumstances, or bad ones, only time will.

As they enter the building, Itsuka waved to the two as she left to her seating area, while Katsuki and Izuku sat next to each other.

All the examinees chattered about as they waited for whatever would happen next. Izuku looked about the room, noticing so many unique looking people, a childish part of him itched for one of his notebooks, but he quelled his small excitement for now. It was moments like those that made him feel normal again, it made him feel like there was not as much 'baggage' holding him down.

Soon the lights dimmed and walking out to the center stage was Present Mic, who seemed to be in high spirits like he usually was.

"GOOOOOOOD MORNING U.A CANDIDATES! CAN I GET A WHOA-YEAH?!" Present Mic yelled out.

Silence.

"Umm, tough crowd like always huh?" He nervously let out.

Silence.

"ANYWAYS! TODAY WE ARE GOING TO GET DOWN! BY THAT I MEAN WHAT IS GOING TO GO DOWN DURING THE PRACTICAL! WOOOOOO!"

Silence.

"Uhh anyways! As your applications stated! You will be partaking in a ten minute mock battle in an urban city! As you can see." He said while pointing to a screen behind him. "You will be split into specified groups as by the letters where you sit!"

Izuku looked over seeing he was letter C, while Katsuki was letter F.

"Well I guess we really will see who's the best now how Kacchan?" Izuku whispered out.

Though a certain someone heard this, and it ticked them off.

Katuski on the other hand gave a small chuckle. "You better fucking give it your all Deku, I will not accept victory unless you try." Not caring in the slightest at his moderate volume, in the otherwise quiet room.

"As for your foes! You will be pitted up against three varying types of robots, each more difficult than the last! However, each robot is given a total!." Present Mic held up one finger. "One point for the weak bunch!" Then he held two up. "Two points for the moderate!" Then finally he held up three fingers. "And three points for the hard ones!"

Everyone seemed to nod at this, taking in what Present Mic had to say. Izuku had already known about this beforehand from his aunt, but had not disclosed the info to Katsuki or Itsuka, nor anyone for that matter.

"As always! Attacking other examinees is a HUGE NO NO AT U.A! So keep those quirks to the robots yes?!" He concluded with. Before he could continue though, a rather stiff looking student raised their hand into the air.

"Excuse me sir! I have a question!"

"LET IT RIP LITTLE MAN!"

This mysterious boy took out a piece of paper, holding it for all to see.

"On the print out it says there will be four opponents, and you only appeared to have mentioned three! For such a prestigious school missing a big oversight it is shameful. A mistake such as this will not do one bit!" He paused turning around to Izuku and Katsuki. "And you two! Quit talking while an educator is speaking! If this is a joke to you both, I suggest you leave immediately." He said coldly

Izuku hid his head low in shame, the looks all around pointing his way bothered him, as he gave out a small apology. Katsuki was shaking in fury, if it was not for Present Mic talking, Katsuki was sure he would of blasted this prick into space.

"Alright examinee 7111! I hear you loud and clear! No there is no mistake! Just the fourth and final foe is worth zero points! That is all students, I wish you luck, and as always! PLUS ULTRA!"

The students harmoniously said the same thing, which annoyed Present Mic to no end. **"Of course they repeat that."**

The candidates were called by their letters, filing out to their designated areas. As Izuku was following his crowd, he felt a pair of hands quickly grab him by the shoulders startling him.

"Gah!" He not so manly screamed out.

The perpetrator broke out into a small fit of laughter, girlishly giggling at her friends expense.

"Oh man Izuku! My bad dude, I didn't think you'd get so scared!" Itsuka cried out.

They were causing a small commotion as the others within their group were staring at the two strangely.

"I-Itsuka, what are you doing here?" He warily questioned.

"Obviously I'm apart of this group! Duh!"

It then dawned on Izuku, she would be taking the test with him, and for some reason that made him feel a bit safer.

"Oh! Okay that makes sense…" He trailed off, though gave her a friendly smile.

The two friends then reached a bus and boarded it together, making their way to the grounds in which the exam would take place. Upon arrival the examinees fanned out of the bus, and were left in a large clearing, in front of them stood the metropolis in all its glory.

Izuku took a deep breath, taking off his gloves, and put them into his pocket. Courtesy of his auntie Nemu, she had paid for a set of three shorts, three shirts, a pair of socks, some undershirts, and of course boxers; so he could put on clothes without having to wear his gloves with. It made him feel almost normal for once. He was eternally grateful to the hero, who just seemed to adore him as if she were his own.

Izuku looked towards Itsuka once more, "Good luck out here Itsuka, I know teaming up would look bad, but I'm rooting for you!" He finished with smiling at her.

"Yup! But hey I'm rooting for you as well! Show them Izuku how far you've come eh?" She smiled in return, giving him a thumbs up while walking more to the front of the crowd.

"**How far I've come huh?"** He had a habit of thinking to himself nowadays.

As he mentally prepared himself, he looked over the crowd to see the girl that stopped his fall earlier on in the day. Izuku felt it would do no harm to properly thank her, so he approached her, raising a hand to get her attention.

This was stopped however, as the boy from earlier grabbed his wrist, stopping him from his destination.

"Are you just trying to be an annoyance? Look, she's trying to focus and you will only get in her way if you….go to….her…" The boy suddenly stopped talking, looking towards the individual he was holding.

Izuku was frozen, dead still, a mixture of anger and fear plastered on his face, his heart was beating fast, and he felt his eyes would pierce this other boys very soul.

"Let. Go." Izuku simply said, his tone sounding menacing.

It was a threat, one that sent the boy before him reeling in slight shock. He quickly let go, looking to Izuku in disbelief, the way Izuku looked at him sent a chill through his very bones, but he saw a speckle of fear and sadness in the boys deep emerald green eyes flash for a few seconds.

Izuku slowly walked away from the boy, shaking in anger, but in reality Izuku was only putting on a front. He was 'upset' the boy grabbed him in such a way, especially with his hands free from their confines; but what really threw him for a loop however was how the second he grabbed his wrist, he saw a flash of his mother's own look of horror replace the boys.

He felt himself shiver, his hands all over his body standing on end. Other competitors noticed the small altercation, with varying emotions playing out on their faces. Some felt fear, others were indifferent, but one thing was shared; whatever caused this green haired boy to say such a threat, though he did not even insinuate any bodily harm to the boy, they wondered what had Izuku on edge. Itsuka noticed what had happened and tried to reach out to him, but was stopped by a voice from above.

"MAYBE FUTURE STUDENTS! BEGIN!" The voice belonging to Present Mic shouted out.

Startled, everyone looked around in confusion, the sudden intrusion causing their ears to ache.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE FUTURE HEROES! GO! GO! GO! GOOOO!"

Izuku sprung into action, taking off in a sprint, many students followed with, making a mad dash to the main entrance of the city. It was hectic, quirks were going off left and right of all calibers of power, noise, and light? Izuku looked puzzled as another competitor flew past him, a laser coming out of his stomach? Whatever that was Izuku made a mad dash as far in to the city as possible, hoping that by being separated from the groups, he'd be able to score points to his heart's content. It proved to be a great decision when he spotted four one pointers rush towards him.

Izuku calmed his nerves the best he could, he needed to focus! His quirk worked best when he focused on his hands, especially his fingers.

The first one swing a ring hook, hoping to catch the boy in the stomach. Izuku was faster however, as soon as the first came towards him, he effortlessly side stepped the very readable move.

The fist grazed right by his stomach, and Izuku jabbed the hard metal plate with his index finger and middle finger. The sacred combo proving to work effortlessly as the robot staggered, following to the floor below.

"**It's working! One Point." **He yelled to himself internally.

With the guidance of Mr. Kendo when they trained one on one, Izuku had learned many types of martial arts, especially those that involved him striking with his palm, and more importantly his fingers. They acted like knives, that would encase anything in stone, however where it struck was the key factor.

The whole robot itself was not covered in stone, just a small area by its chest; but with the forceful impact of his hand, his quirk acted like a bullet. It essentially shot through whatever he struck internally, encasing in a straight line.

Izuku struck another in the chest, aiming upwards towards the robots head. A long grey line shot through the robot from its chest up to its head, it too falling to the ground below. This is what he had been practicing for months. This allowed his attacks to actually destroy the robots and let him get points, not just immobilize them.

It also reduced the amount of stamina drain he would feel if to many things were affect by his quirk. He knew for a fact if he had about twenty of these robots fully affected by his quirk, he would go unconscious.

The third one pointer went for his head, striking his chin. It sent his head spinning as he reflexively grabbed the arm that struck him with his right hand. The whole robot stopped moving as it was now stone, it's non existent cold gaze staring off into nothing.

Izuku grimaced, the pain from using his whole hand was always there. The strange tingling sensation that he felt in his palms never seemed to be quelled; no matter how much he practiced, whenever he would use one of his hands fully, or both, he would feel nothing but pain as they went numb at the nerves. Though that only happened when he was caught by surprise, when he practiced his quirk in a controlled environment, the pain was not there.

Quickly, Izuku ran towards the other robot, successfully sliding under its legs, and much to his pride, he struck it in its nonexistent genitals. A streak of grey shot straight up the robot, collapsing forward in a heap.

"Four points, come on Izuku! Get your head in the game!" He gave himself light slaps on the cheek, it calming his shaky hands.

Running forward once more, he encountered another one pointer, quickly making quick work of it by jabbing it in the side. So Izuku kept this pace, for some reason where he was, it was riddled with one pointers; and it was not till he reached thirteen points, that he encountered a larger version of the one pointer.

He assumed it was the two pointer and smile at his luck, this would definitely boost him a bit.

The two pointer followed the same programming as the one pointer did, it struck with its arm, not trying to hide the move whatsoever. Izuku easily countered, letting the fist gracefully slide by his side and with practiced ease, he jabbed it swiftly in the head this time.

The robot followed the footsteps of its forefathers as it fell to the ground, splashing dirt and debris into the air around him.

"SEVEN MINUTES FUTURE STUDENTS!"

Izuku gulped, he was only fifteen points in, and with already three minutes already passing, his time was running short. Continuing his pace, Izuku was suddenly clotheslined from the largest of the two he had seen yet. He groaned in pain as he was rag-dolled into a wall.

The three pointer continued its onslaught, aiming straight for the boy, a fist raised to take him out. As the fist was about to connect, Izuku reached out with his hand in a last ditch attempt to hopefully stop the damage.

The hard robotic fist connected with his palm, its arm cracking as Izuku's quirk shattered it from the impact. In the split second the arm was surrounded by stone, the momentum carried with the fist literally exploded the three pointers arm.

Izuku winced as the shrapnel blew into his face and body, some bits stabbing into his skin. These robots seemed to have been programmed an interesting way; as soon as an excessive amount of damage was dealt to them, they would collapse. With the damage to its whole arm, the robot fell over, narrowly missing Izuku's slumped body against the wall.

"That was way to close…" He said through his teeth. His body felt like it was on fire, and his hands were starting to sting to much for his taste.

As he made way to stand, he felt his balance falter as the whole city started to shake. He heard distant shouts and screams from what he could only assume were his fellow opponents; and with the way the shouts grew closer they were coming his way.

As examinees ran past him, an enormous figure peaked past a couple of skyscrapers that were in his path. His face paled as the large monstrosity before him blocked out the sun itself.

* * *

_One Minute Before_

Principal Nezu sipped his tea, as he looked at the large screen before him. A few of his teachers, and heroes were seated along with him, watching the students partake in the practical.

"Quite the promising bunch this year." Vlad King stated, while looking at a screen that had a blonde boy on it, a murderous gleam in his eyes.

Some of the others were also interested in this blonde headed boy, already eight minutes into the exam and he had a staggering seventy villain points to his name. Not near the highest score ever during the exam, but it was nothing to scoff at.

Midnight's gaze was completely focused on her beloved nephew, who at the moment was keeping a very slow pace. It worried her immensely as she looked at the other points his group had. Itsuka Kendo had sixty-five points, and someone named Tenya Lida had sixty-one points.

Izuku was at the absolute bottom of the pack, with a sad eighteen points to his name. She felt herself digging her nails into the arms of her chair slightly. She knew that Izuku wanted to get into U.A so bad, it was his dream; his ultimate goal to reach the school in which so many heroes have come out of. She started accepting the possibility that maybe he won't be able to do it. With only two minutes left, and with how the three pointer 'bloodied' him up, she wanted to scream at something. She wanted to hit something, her nephew NEEDED to be in U.A; she knew if he failed he would never be the same, he was already hiding so much from them, and with a defeat like this it just might send the boy over the edge.

Before she could feel hot tears brim her eyes, Nezu called out to all of them at once.

"Well everyone! It is time this dog, or a mouse, or a bear! Press the famous button!"

He was referring to what would release the zero pointer to all the collective exam sites below. It stood at a staggering height, the power packed into it was definitely something these aspiring heroes could not take as of now. Even some pros had trouble bringing down the gargantuan heap of metal.

Nezu's white paw slammed onto the button, a buzzing sound emanating from the lounge in which they were watching the examinees; alerting them all that the beast had been unleashed.

Midnight looked back to 'screen Izuku', the sole reason he was even being shown on a side screen was per request of her, and surprisingly Present Mic. Other teachers looked on in wonder at his quirk that was for sure, but with his cumulative point total, some felt saddened knowing this boy and his promising quirk, would not see the light of day at U.A. maybe the other high schools would take him?

Though Midnight mentally prepared herself to comfort her nephew, she looked on as Izuku stared up at the robot in wonder.

* * *

Izuku's whole body felt cold, he stood their gob-strucked by the sheer mass and size of the behemoth before him. Not even thinking twice, he turned heel, and joined in on the 'running away' from the monstrosity. His whole body hurt, and he felt he would collapse at any moment.

"H-Help!" A voice shouted behind him.

Turning quickly, he saw the girl that had stopped his fall from earlier. She lay on the floor, her hand outstretched to anyone that would help. His body moved on its own, he ran straight to the downed girl, who's ankle was caught by a large chunk from a torn off part of a building.

Doing the only thing he could do, he lifted with all his might to try and rid the chunk of debris from her leg. The white color of the chunk, slowly turned grey as Izuku lifted. All that strength training seemed to pay off however as he lifted it just enough for the girl to agonizingly pull her leg out. She cried out in pain as it was set free. Izuku looked down to see it was twisted in a way that it should not, and he offered his forearm to pull her up.

"H-Here! Grab my arm not my hand! I'll carry you out of h-here!"

She grabbed onto his forearm carefully as she was lifted up onto her good leg. She winced as she threw her arm around his neck, her ankle may be broken, but her other was not faring any better. With a cry she slowly collapsed to the floor again, Izuku stopping her descent as best he could without touching her.

"J-Just leave me! I-Im sure this thing won't actually at-attack me!" She yelled out. She had hoped that U.A would not actually kill any students during the testing...

The robot was now literally on top of them, it's foot just about to turn them into a literal human pancake on the ground below. With the shadow descending onto them, Izuku did the only thing he could of done. He knew he was going to regret this, he knew for a fact the painful memory he had associated with this would only make this worse. He did not want to see that..._grey_ ever again, but what choice did he have?

He stood over the girl, giving a battle cry as he willed himself to protect her, he held his two index fingers high, holding them above his head as the foot descended on them. As the foot made contact, to the astonishment of the examinees who watched on in fear for the two, and teachers in the lounge who wondered if their principal had finally gone mad, the whole entire zero pointer turned grey. It completely stopped in its tracks, a large fault carved up and through its body, and judging from the 'status report' on its health, the entire thing was fried inside and out.

Izuku felt like a red hot rod was being stabbed into his eyes nonstop, he felt as if his hands were being held within molten metal, his skin melting off to the bone. His fingers felt as if they were being constantly picked at the fingernails, wedges jammed in between them.

"THAT'S IT STUDENTS! THE TEST IS OVER!"

Many students just looked on at the scene before them in stunning silence. This green haired boy had stopped the zero pointer all by himself, a large cracked laid waste to the once towering champion; but no one saw the absolute unfiltered agony the boy was in, not until he _screamed_.

Itsuka had watched the scene before her, and she was already mid rush as Izuku raised his two fingers above his head. Her eyes widened in panic and she felt tears falling out of her eyes.

"**Oh god please. IZUKU! I can't bear it another time…no make it stop!" **But she was too late. The robot turned into stone, followed by her friends scream brought up nightmares she had hopped were pushed to the deepest recesses of her mind. Itsuka Kendo was too late.

* * *

_The two had been practicing their quirks for the last two hours or so. Katsuki was off blowing up things like he usually did, and Itsuka was crushing various hunks of metal with her hands. She had noticed by joining the two boys, she had leaped bounds with her quirk. Her strength in them grew, and she could now effectively carry three hundred pounds in each hand when her quirk was activated. _

_Itsuka looked over to Izuku, seeing him in deep concentration as he kept laying both of his hands on a large minivan before him. As he had called it, he was 'channeling' his very quirk, allowing it to flow with the guidance of his mind. He had said it felt almost like a stream, and he just willed it to flow along whatever he touched. It took him a lot of practice, and judging by the odd slithering grey of his quirk, along the red color of the rusted mini van, she could tell he had the control down pretty good! _

_She always found the site fascinating to watch, when they had first met, the boy simply knew his touch turned to stone, but as he progressed and grew older, that touch now had a multitude of effects. The biggest of which was him being able to control the flow his quirk traveled of course. _

_He had implemented it into the jabs her father taught him, and her eyes shone with pride whenever he struck the van with his index and middle finger. It would shoot out a grey line across the van, cracking it slightly on the seam in which the line followed. _

_Though he had not mastered it, Itsuka saw the promise such a thing would have for her best friend. She wondered for a moment how such a thing would feel hit against her body; but Izuku had not used his quirk on a living being since the incident with his mother when he was four. _

_The thought always made her sad, at being such a young and fragile age; to bear witness to such a thing would definitely be damaging to the mind mentally. Something she knew for a fact still bothered him. Though he would try his best to quell her worries, or even Katsuki's for that matter, Itsuka felt she shared the same feelings with that jerk off for once; they both worried for their mutual friend's well being._

"_Hey Itsuka…" _

_Startled from her inner musings, she looked towards her friend. _

"_What's up dude?" _

"_There has been something I've been wanting to try, but I've been having trouble willing myself to do it…" He trailed off. _

_He was telling her how he felt on something, one of his inner struggles, something she had shared with him, with some of her own inner struggles. _

"_Of course dude I'm all ears." She smiled, hoping to ease his worries. _

"_Ummm you know how my index fingers are the strongest use of my quirk right?" _

_She nodded her head. Izuku took this as his opportunity to continue. _

"_Well I always feel an immense pain course through my hand when I do so, but I have never tried using both at once…" Again he trailed off, looking to said appendages on his hand. _

_Itsuka nodded her head once more, following along with what he was saying. He had shown her this one time with an apple, he used it as it caused the least amount of pain; but she found it odd how such a finger would hold all the power to his quirk, if anything she felt is should of been his palm. _

"_So I've been thinking, maybe it hurts so much because I'm releasing it all out of one finger, but if I used both of my index fingers, it would act like two floodgates going at once. Alleviating the pain and stress it causes my hands." _

_Itsuka put a finger to her chin, deep in thought. _

"_That makes sense Izuku, like how if you combine two fingers together, like your index and middle, maybe that's just not a factor limited to just one hand. Maybe with both of your hands using the same finger, it acts the same as if you combine them on one?" _

_Izuku grew a large smile on his face. "Oh my god! Of course Suka! That makes amazing sense! Thank you I'm going to try it right now!" _

_Itsuka blushed at his childish nickname for her, he rarely said that unless he was extremely happy or excited about something, and as the days turned to months, she rarely ever saw that happiness on his face. It was refreshing. _

_Izuku rubbed his hands together, warming them up for what he had prepared. He held out both of his index fingers as he aimed them towards the minivan once more. He took a deep breath, and placed them on the van. _

"_Well! Here goes n-"_

_Itsuka looked on in surprise as the van was encased completely by his quirk, which with the speed in which it traveled, rivaled how his quirk reacted when he laid both his hands on something when he had first started training with Katsuki. He had told her about the incident with a small sedan, but she never thought much of it since as of now, he had mastered that aspect of his quirk by now. _

_Yet, with the touch of both of his index fingers on the minivan, the whole thing splintered in half, but the way it creaked and crumbled sounded like sandpaper in her ears. _

_Then she heard the one sound she thought she would never hear out of the green cinnamon roll. She thought she had heard it all, from rare curses, to his muttering, but the scream of pure agony that Izuku let out chilled her soul. _

_If Izuku had to describe the pain his body was in, he felt it would fill an entire chapter of a graphic horror novel. To make matters worse, he let out a 'banshees wail' one he knew Itsuka, and Katsuki in the distance definitely heard. _

_Everything was scalding hot, he felt his very bones crack as he fell to the floor, convulsing like a mad man. Itsuka stared on in horror as her friend seized on the ground, she quickly rushed to his aid, gripping onto his body with all her might. _

"_IZUKU! WHAT'S WRONG!?" She was panicking, and she started to hyperventilate as her friend did not respond, his bloodshot eyes lulling into the back of his skull. _

"_MAN HANDS WHAT HAPPENED!" _

_Itsuka looked toward Katuski, as he made a mad dash towards that too. _

"_Bakugo! Oh my god help! He's seizing up! I need your help to hold him on his side!" _

_Without yelling at her for ordering him around, he quickly did as she said, he held his shaking friend on his side as Itsuka held him gently by his legs. _

_The famed recover position had saved millions of lives, but to the two young teens it would only be the start of the horror that would soon follow. A solid minute passed before their friend stopped shaking, his body finally relaxing from the violent episode._

_Katuski stared wide eyed at his friend below, his features on his face soft for once; while Itsuka felt herself crying slightly in relief as Izuku's body calmed down. Judging by the way his body slowly raised and fell with his breath, was a good indication that he was obviously alive. _

_They don't know how long they sat there till he came too, Itsuka at a point thought of calling his parents, but decided against it for now. It was very irresponsible to do such a thing, but with how Katuski did not even make a move to do what she was thinking, she decided that doing such a thing was for the better. _

_Izuku slowly opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the setting sun off in the distance. Itsuka and Katsuki's slowly sat him up as their friend groggily rubbed at his eyes, though he repeated this action again. And again. And again. He was soon rubbing at his eyes furiously as he started to panic, tears falling freely from his eyes. _

"_I-Izuku? Hey….wh-whats happening?" Itsuka choked out. _

_He did not respond as he rubbed at his eyes faster and faster, now becoming hysterical. _

"_D-Deku! Calm the fuck down!" Katsuki's cracked out. It was a rare thing to hear. _

_Katuski reached over grabbing his hands by his wrist, careful to avoid his hands, after all he was still not wearing his gloves. _

_Izuku finally found his voice as he looked to his friends who were holding him up on each side. His eyes widened as he was now in full blown hysterics. _

"_G-Guys…" His weak voice croaked out. His eyes seemed hollow and distant, it scared them._

_His voice sounded so small and hollow, and to Katuski and Itsuka, they finally realized what had been troubling their friend for the last minute or so. _

_Katuski wanted to place his hands on his ears, but he was holding Izuku's hands to stop his quirk, he knew what his friend was going to say, and he wanted to scream to the heavens above for such a thing to happen. Itsuka shut her eyes in fright, hoping this was all just a bad dream, hoping that this was some cruel joke someone felt like tormenting her with. _

"_**All because I encouraged him to do it"**_

"_I can't s-see...it-it's all g-grey...where's the c-color..?"_

* * *

Midnight had not sprung into action as fast as she did now, the lounge in which she was in with her fellow teachers, was only about a two minutes dash away from test point C. Judging from the reactions of everyone in the lounge, they were wondering what exactly was going on. They all heard his scream, they were watching the events unfold before them; and they barely had any time to react as Midnight, the R-18 hero, rushed out of the room like her life depended on it.

"Recovery girl! Get to that scene immediately." Nezu said. For once the chippy way his voice always sounded was gone.

Recovery girl nodded her head, and she rushed to a nearby cart. They had these carts placed here so she could get to students in dire need of medical attention if need be while taking the exam. Though serious injuries were rare, from what she saw from the green haired boy on the screen, that boy was in a whole world of unimaginable hurt.

Midnight felt her heart racing faster than it ever had before. The scream her nephew let out was something she would soon not forget. As she neared her destination she feared for the worst, her mind playing thousands of possible scenarios before her; all of which were not good.

She could see the large robot before her, standing like a statue as it loomed over the small gathering of students. She figured that's where he was, and judging from the commotion she was correct to think as such.

She not so gently moved past the students, startling many of them, only for them to stand in shock as the pro-hero made her way through the gathered crowd. When she broke into the little clearing she saw the strangest sight, Itsuka Kendo, Izuku's best friend from what she knew, was on her knees holding him on his side, slowly whispering to him as the boy looked like he was merely asleep.

Another girl she did not know about, was also on her knees holding his legs steady, but judging from the pained expression on her face, and the way her ankle was twisted, she was running on pure adrenaline.

"Everyone back away!" She announced. "Go back to the entrance the test is over."

The students stood still, still staring in shock at what had happened in front of them a few moments ago.

"MOVE!" Midnight shouted once more.

This got them all to hurriedly disperse and head to the exit, leaving only Itsuka, and the girl with the hurt ankle behind. Midnight joined the two on the ground trying to figure out what exactly happened as she made her mad dash over here.

"Itsuka. What is happening? And I know you know." She mildly accused.

Midnight was not mad at the girl one bit, but she needed answers so she can assess what needed to be done. The other girl from what she could tell had been crying, for what reason she did not know. Itsuka seemed to be in the same mess, and judging by the way she ignored Midnight's question, something was definitely not right.

Itsuka continued to whisper to Izuku's ear hoping it would calm him more, fearing when he would wake up. She did not need to hold his hands away from her, as his quirk was completely drained. This was sadly the only time Izuku was free from his quirk, something Itsuka took advantage of by holding her friends hand, hoping the comfort would help him.

Midnight stared astonished, young Kendo was holding his hand, and she was not turning into stone. She shakily reached a selfish hand of her own, grabbing his other hand in her as if it was a lifeline.

Midnight tried her best to keep her own tears in check, but this was the first time ever she could actually feel the warmth of his skin on her own. She forgot what she had asked Kendo previously as she looked to her nephew, who began slightly stirring on the ground.

Midnight was relieved as the boy opened his eyes, but she noticed the way young Kendo reacted. Itsuka quickly soothed to the boy aloud, and what she said confused Midnight and the other girl.

"Shhhh, I-Izuku. It's okay…" She paused, while rubbing his back in comfort. "The color is still t-there, don't panic please?"

She slowly helped Izuku sit on his haunches, as the boy stared in front of him, his eyes a hollow husk as he looked beyond to nothing. Midnight had let go of his hand, forgetting the warmth it brought her as she saw the look in his eyes.

"Itsuka, everything is so grey, why is it grey?" He wondered aloud.

He knew exactly why, he used his quirk in a way he knew would greatly harm him; but even though he knew he was the cause for his condition right now, the sight always frightened him. **"What if this time it was permanent?"** He thought.

Midnight moved into his field of view holding a hand on his cheek worryingly.

"Zu? What's wrong? What's happening?" Her face was laced with concern as she stared into the dead orbs that were his eyes.

Izuku stared at the grey blob that was his aunt, his vision was blurry, and he can still make out shapes; but judging by her voice he knew it was her. It was all Izuku needed as he rushed into her arms, crying as if his life depended on it.

"I-I'm sorry auntie N-N-Nemu.." He cried out softly.

Midnight held the boy tight, shivering at the boys sudden touch.

"Sorry? Why is my little Nephew sorry?" She brought out.

His grip only tightened on her as he shook in her grasp.

"Your g-grey...which means my quirk h-hurt you.." He was getting delusional.

This confused Midnight, she was perfectly fine, and judging by the way his bare hands gripped her costume, she was not turning into stone anytime soon.

"I-Izuku, I need you to calm down for me okay?" She felt him grip her tighter. "I'm fine, your quirk is completely drained, it won't affect me see?" Well at least she thought it was drained from what young Kendo was doing.

She pulled one of his hands from her back, lacing it in between her own.

"Look Zu! We are holding hands!" She tearily let out.

Izuku's felt his eyes go wide, he had forgotten the last time this happened he was able to feel touch for the first time after so many years of being devoid from it; and since he was holding one of his beloved family members he leaned into the touch cherishing every second of it.

"I can f-feel you." He quickly reached over touching her face. "Oh my god! Auntie! I c-can feel y-you!"

The way he said it literally ripped her heartstrings as she gripped his hand tighter.

"Yes! Zu your hand is so warm!" She called out lovingly. She found pure joy as he touched the curves of her face, relishing in his childish curiosity as he could actually feel something again.

By this time, Recovery Girl had made it onto the scene, aiding in the other girls injury to her ankle.

"What's your name deary?" The old lady implored.

"O-Ochaco Uraraka ma'am!" She nervously let out.

"Well Miss Uraraka." She then kissed the girl on the ankle. "My quirk will make you feel better, here have some gummy bears."

She looked to the old woman in confusion as she held her hand out to receive the treat. Uraraka felt her ankle painlessly twist back into place, the odd feeling making her shiver.

Recovery girl then looked to the orange haired girl.

"And you missy?"

Itsuka at first had not heard what the hero had said, as she held her hands to her ears to stop all noise from all around her. She was having vivid flashbacks to the day on the beach, and she wondered to herself how she had slept those coming weeks after.

* * *

"_I can't s-see...it-it's all g-grey...where's the c-color..?"_

_Itsuka and Katsuki had no idea on how to answer such a question. Their minds going into a frenzy and whatever the implications meant. Katsuki was never good at this sort of thing, he just stared down at the boy in shock, shaking as he tried willing himself to do something for his friend. _

_Itsuka on the other hand took action, she quickly pulled Izuku into a comforting hug, one that she hoped he felt. _

_The boy went stiff as he held his hands above his head, not wanting to touch whomever decided to hug him. The weird thing was, the pain was gone, but what replaced his vision was grey blobs and shapes. His hands no longer felt like they were being melted off, they just felt cold and dead. _

_When he had first awoken, all he saw was pure darkness; and he feared he might have gone blind, but as his eyes adjusted to being suddenly opened he noticed shapes return, albeit blurry blobs. What really terrified him was how everything was now in a grey scale. Everywhere he looked just looked like a grey blob, and it reminded him of his quirk, he felt as if he had encased the world with it. _

"_I-Izuku.." The voice of Itsuka choked out. _

_He had not realized it, but he was silently crying like an infant, his tears staining his friends shirt below. The wide eyed look did not settle well to Itsuka or Katsuki, their friend looked so dead, yet he was alive. _

_Izuku started to panic, he flailed wildly within her grasp, trying to get away so he would not hurt her with his quirk any longer. It made sense to him now everything was grey because he had in fact surrounded the world in stone. His two best friends being victims of it themselves as he screamed in sadness. _

"_NO! I-I-Itsuka, Ka-Kacchan…." He could not hear their voices as they called out to him, he could no longer feel the tight embrace of Itsuka. _

_It made sense to him now, in the midst of his hysteria he quickly touched his hands together, hoping it would fix everything, hoping it would release the world from its prison, and his friends from their suffering. _

_The usual tug he felt when his hands connected was not there, and to make matters worse the grey did not go away one bit. He was now full blown screaming, not out of pain, but of hatred for himself. _

"_WHY ME! WHY DOES EVERYTHING I LOVE.." He felt the embrace holding him let go, as he collapsed to the ground below, "Have to turn grey eventually?"_

_He looked pitiful as he was lost within himself, Katsuki did not know what to do, he actually stared at Itsuka, hopeful she knew how or what to make of this situation._

_Itsuka felt like the only thing she could do was reach out to his hand, something was screaming at her to do it, but his quirk would most likely snag her, and that was definitely not what Izuku needed to see or feel. _

_She took the chance. She grabbed him by both of his hands, leveling them down to her level as she sat him up, he stared in her direction, his face one of fear, but he felt something he had not felt in a long time. Something that only his gloves barely offered . It was warmth, the warmth of human skin. _

_Izuku could not feel anything else on his body, but when he felt the warmth of what he assumed to be Itsuka's hands, especially with how soft they were, he was perplexed. He subtlety traced his fingers along her palm, forgetting his quirk at any moment would further encase her, if that was even possible. _

_Itsuka gasped as she was perfectly fine, she had not turned into stone as the boy usually feared, and she was feeling her friends hands for the first time ever. She teared up as he laced his fingers into her own, relishing in the moment playing out before her. _

_Katsuki himself was shocked, for once Izuku's quirk seemed to have turned off, and as he stared at the girl before him comforting her friend, a felt a new wave of respect for her wash over him. _

_When he could not comfort his friend in need, she took action, though a very risky move, it seemed to work as Izuku calmed from his panic attack, merely lost in the touch of another person. _

"_Itsuka…" He trailed off. "I can f-f-feel you, your hands! I can feel them!" He shouted out excitedly. _

_Itsuka smiled, feeling herself cry even more. She always found it funny how she had this tough girl air around her, but when it came to this boy, she felt like she could freely express her emotions without being judged. _

"_I-Izuku! Your quirk! It's not working!" She did not know whether that was good or bad. _

_Izuku seemed to find it as good as he cried out in joy, even if this was a fleeting moment, Izuku felt true happiness for the first time in years._

* * *

Itsuka was startled when a hand delicately touched her shoulder; looking over to the culprit she saw a short elderly woman looking at her in concern.

"Are you injured?"

Itsuka shook her head no, realizing she played out that memory in her head in mere seconds.

"In that case, can you be a deary and help Miss Uraraka over to the vehicle, Miss..?" She questioned.

"Itsuka K-Kendo ma'am. And y-yes I'll help her." She slightly stuttered out.

Recovery girl gave a smile at this, as Itsuka stood up shakily and made way to the girl still on the floor.

Recovery girl turned her attention to Midnight, and the boy she was holding onto. She raised an eyebrow at this, and wondered if the young lad was her lover, but she knew better than to think of such things out loud.

Izuku had finally calmed down some, enjoying the warm touch of his aunt's face and hand, he knew his quirk would return in about three hours, and he knew that this moment would not last much longer. He was milking it for all it was worth, and he wished his own parents were here, so he could feel his mother and fathers hands in his own.

"Nemuri, who is this boy?" The old woman quipped as she approached the two.

Midnight shook her head slightly from the sudden intrusion, but gave a smile to the old hero.

"This is my lovely nephew Izuku Midoriya, sorry I got distracted."

Recovery paid it no mind as she approached the boy.

"Are you hurt young Midoriya?"

"Well the pain is gone now…" He shivered out. From what Itsuka had told him about last time, he most likely had a seizure again, and she had come to his aid once more.

Izuku gave a glance over to a pair of grey blobs sitting on something, he aimed a small smile in that direction, hoping it would reach his dear friend.

It worked as Itsuka felt herself visibly relax when her friend smiled in her direction. It seemed the previous experience they had with this, aided them both with this sudden repeat.

"Hey Kendo, is your friend going to be alright?" Uraraka questioned.

Itsuka sighed. "He will be fine Uraraka, but something else worries me." And she left it at that.

Uraraka was confused, but did not push further, she had no obligation to try and get Kendo to say anything.

"I hope they don't let him into U.A because he stopped to help me, he could have gotten more points if I was not in the way…" Uraraka let out.

Itsuka smiled at this, patting Uraraka on the shoulder.

"Ehh don't worry, that kid would jump in again without hesitation, he's just a hero at heart."

Uraraka felt calmer at this, but still looked to the boy in his aunt's arms; she wondered how they were related, but assumed the obvious, she was his mother's sister.

The trio themselves walked over to the vehicle as Izuku took up the seat besides his best friend.

Itsuka worriedly looked to the now quiet boy, as he looked off into the distance as they drove off.

"Izuku?" She let out gently. Something she found herself doing a lot now a days.

He looked towards her, his eyes the same hollow green they were previously, yet they looked like their was more baggage within them.

"Thank you Suka, I cherish everything you do for me."

She felt her voice hitch in her throat, he meant every single word; and she did not know how to react to such a thing.

She simply pulled her friend into a hug, rubbing his green hair softly.

"Ugh you dork." She joked out. She was trying her best to keep it together.

Izuku chuckled at this as he returned his friends hug, his head was on her shoulder, and he felt all the positive emotions from seconds ago dissipate.

His full vision had returned, which meant he no longer saw just blobs and shapes. He could make out his friends face, and the other girls as well. But there was a problem still. The scenery going past them would of been beautiful, but with everything grey, what beauty could there be to see?

* * *

A few days had past, and Izuku laid in his bed staring at his ceiling as he awoke from his slumber. From what he could tell, it was just a little past afternoon by how bright the sunlight rays shone through his curtains. He noticed the color in his eyesight had returned, which made him sigh in immense relief. **"Last time it had only taken a day for the color to return...it's been five." **The thought worried him, will the days just keep going up and up with each use like this?

His quirk had obviously returned, the elapsed time allowing it to recover, however Midnight had swiftly contacted his parents about what had happened.

They asked him a million questions as he sat in the infirmary of the U.A grounds, but he just stayed quiet. He did not want to talk yet as everything was still the dull grey it had been. He had simply said, "not yet, please I'm fine", and they unwillingly let their son stay quiet on the matter for now.

Izuku felt it was time to tell them what exactly had happened, and how it came about. As per his request, Itsuka and Katsuki had never spilled the beans on what happened to him the first time he entered a 'fit' like this, but with the color returned and his mood better he took the initiative.

He calmly walked out of his bedroom, down the hall, towards his parents room. The door was left open, allowing him to see both of his parents sound asleep on the bed. He felt like a kid again as he slipped himself between the two, shakily waking them up.

At first they were startled by the bed intruder, but Inko pulled her son into her as he weakly clung on to her. He was fourteen years old, and acting like a child who just woke up from a nightmare.

"Honey? What's the matter?" She asked.

Hisashi now fully waking up sat up on his side as he laid a comforting hand on his sons back.

"Izuku?" He said himself.

Izuku loved the closeness he felt from his mother as she held him to her chest, he felt so safe in her arms, and with his dads comforting hand on his back, he felt at ease.

"G-Guys, we need to talk.."

Inko and Hisashi looked at eachother, looks of worry yet relief washing over them. It was time, and they wondered if they were really prepared for anything he had to say.

* * *

"_IZUKU! Come back!" Itsuka shouted after him. _

"_DEKU!" The other yelled out. _

_Katsuki and Itsuka were chasing after him, as he suddenly ran off, touching everything he possibly could with his hands as he ran by._

"_Oh my god! The cold touch of metal!" He shrieked to himself excitedly. "I'd forgotten how it felt!" _

_He quickly knelt down, feeling the sand seep through his fingers as it fell below. _

"_SAND! Oh so soft !" He shouted again. _

_He quickly stood up, running faster than the other two could keep up as he made way to a tree in the distance. _

_He slammed his hands roughly against the bark, enjoying the slight sting that followed with it. He rubbed his hands roughly against the textured area, smiling in glee. _

"_Trees still feel the same too! I forgot how rough they could be!" _

_Itsuka and Katsuki realized what the boy was trying to do, he was literally touching everything he possibly could since he had missed out on it for so many years. _

_The feeling was always different when you used your hands to touch, he could have easily used his forearm, face, or back to feel the texture of something; but the euphoria he felt when using his HANDS, was unimaginable to the other two. _

_Izuku experienced a huge sense of deja vu , as he noticed a single flower blooming by the base of the tree. _

_He gulped as he carefully reached over to touch one of the petals. To his surprise and happiness, he was able to feel the smoothness he had been robbed from all those years ago, he fell to his knees as he got lost in the touch. _

_His friends finally caught up to him, actually feeling winded with how far he had ran. The two slowly approached him, Itsuka on his left, Katsuki on his right. _

_He was touching the petals of a flower gently, looking bewitched by the feeling before him. _

"_Izuku?" Itsuka called out, which gained his attention. _

_Izuku looked up at her, a smile breaking out on his face. _

"_I can actually feel! Katuski, Itsuka, it's like this is too good to be true!" He happily let out. _

_That seemed to be the case as he reached down to the grass below, only for him to lose that sense of touch he had just gotten, instead he was met once again with the tingling of his quirk activating. Though he still saw in grey, he knew that the time of happiness had now come to a close. He knew it would comeback, quirks just don't disappear._

_The other two tensed up as Izuku's quirk made its sudden appearance, it turned the ground below him into stone. They feared how he would react now, especially with his break down hours ago. That's right, they had been chasing him for the better part of two hours as he ran for miles down the beach, touching anything humanly possible. _

_Izuku just sighed however as he weakly looked up to both of his friends in sadness, but he offered them a weak smile._

"_I figured, guess it was too good to be true huh?" He said to them. "Sorry guys, I couldn't control myself there, for once I felt free…" _

_Itsuka and Katsuki just stood there awkwardly rubbing their heads. They understood how Izuku felt, but felt no anger towards the boy; I mean if you were robbed of your touch and it suddenly returned, who would not react the same way he did?_

_Izuku stood up, bringing his hands together to free the grass by his feet. _

"_Thanks guys. You guys sure put up with a lot…" he trailed off, chuckling to himself. _

_Katuski was first to speak. "Don't thank me Deku, it was Kendo over there that really took the reigns, and for once I'll admit that." _

_Both looked to the boy in shock as he called Itsuka by her last name. Izuku picked at his ears, maybe wondering if his hearing had failed him all of a sudden. _

"_Did you just call me by my last name?" Itsuka wondered, she was just as confused as Izuku. _

_Katsuki simply scoffed, though the redness on his cheeks alluded to his embarrassment. "Don't push it." _

_This made the other two laugh as they looked to their now mutual friend. _

"_Well Bakugo, I appreciate the praise!" She teased out. _

_Katsuki grew red in the face, "You're pushing it."_

_Itsuka held her hands up in defeat, chuckling at her new friends expense. _

_Izuku looked at the exchange before him, feeling happy that Katsuki had finally respected Itsuka, he figured it had to do with what happened. _

"_Hey ummmm guys?" Izuku questioned out. _

_The two looked towards him. _

"_Can we keep what happened here between us? I don't want to worry my parents anymore than I usually do." He pleaded out. _

_The two looked at each other before giving their friend a nod in confirmation. _

"_Yeah dude, it's our secret, but don't fucking scare us like that again geez…" Itsuka said, a look of fear on her face._

"_Yeah don't fucking just run off for hours after what happened before hand dumbass." _

_Izuku winced at their harmful, yet worried filled pleas of their own. _

_In the midst of Ituska holding his hand when he realized he could feel in the moment, Itsuka had carefully explained to him what had happened. He remembered the pain that was for sure, as for the seizure he had no clue it even happened. She explained it to him calmly as Katsuki looked on._

_Yet when he realized he could finally touch things freely, he took off._

_He knew one thing for sure though, __**"I'm NOT using those two fingers by themselves again."**_

_Izuku pulled the two into a double hug, much to the annoyance of the both of them. _

"_I'm sorry guys…" He gripped them tighter. "You two mean the world to me, and I cherish everything you do for me. Thank you Suka, and Kacchan, sincerely." He felt himself crying again, he was a Midoriya after all. _

_The two simply sighed as one of them begrudgingly returned the hug. _

"_I swear Deku, you hang around Kendo to much, If I didn't know any better I would think you've grown a vagina at this point." _

_Itsuka took slight offense at the sexist joke, but laughed along with Izuku at their friends remark. _

"_You know Bakugo, girls like a guy attuned to their emotions, you should take notes. You'll need it." Itsuka said to the defense of her friend. _

_Katsuki himself laughed at her retort as the three friends jovially made their way back to the train station to drop off Itsuka, it was a long day for the both of them, and they could not wait to finally be able to sleep._

* * *

Izuku had told them everything, he explained how he first experienced this with Katsuki and Itsuka, and apologized profusely about keeping it from them.

Inko hugged her son with all her might, she was crying into his hair as Hisashi was hugging him from behind. The famed Midoriya family sandwich was something the three of them enjoyed, it made them feel whole.

"Why didn't you ever tell us?" Inko gently cried out.

Izuku gripped her tighter. "I don't want to w-worry you guys anymore...I know I worry you two a lot."

The two parents pulled their son closer.

"Izuku, you know your mother and I will ALWAYS listen to anything you have to say, we love you and you are our world."

Izuku sobbed louder at his father's declaration, **"If only it were that easy."**

* * *

Midnight walked, a jovial kick in her every step. She held within her hand an envelope that contained a students acceptance into the prestigious U.A she taught at. She was making her way to the Midoriya's humble abode, to personally hand deliver her nephew's acceptance into the school.

She had mixed emotions from the previous week, her nephew's condition worried her, but she could not visit as she was busy with all the curriculum she had to get ready for the new flood of students coming in. She had exchanged worried text messages with Aiko, who could not see the boy due to having the flu, really bad at that.

Yet, that was all going to change as Midnight had explicitly asked if she could be the one to deliver the message. Nezu was on board one hundred percent, and she thanked the 'whatever he was' for allowing her to do such a thing.

Before she knew it, she was at the door of the Midoriya household, giving it a firm five knocks, something Inko and Hisashi had told her about. 'The Secret Family Knock' they jokingly called it help differentiate between family and stranger.

The door opened to a short pudgy woman, Inko.

"Nemuri?"

Midnight smiled down at her friend, holding the envelope in front of her to see.

"I come with mail for the resident green-ette!" Midnight exclaimed.

Inko rolled her eyes at this, opening the door for her to enter. "Ha-Ha which one?"

Midnight laughed at her joke as she made her way inside the small but homey apartment.

At the table in the kitchen sat Izuku and Hisashi, who were in the middle of breakfast. She raised a single eyebrow at this.

"Breakfast at noon? Sounds like my kind of party!" She quipped.

Izuku eyes widened at the sound of his aunt's voice, looking up from his food.

"Auntie Nemu? What are you doing here?"

Midnight feigned hurt. "Oh your words wound me Zu! I came over to propose, and you push me away once more!"

Hisahsi chuckled at this as he looked towards his son, who seemed to be even more confused.

"Again, don't get his hopes up Nemuri." Inko teased from behind.

Midnight then held an envelope up for Izuku to see. The shiny seal of U.A on the front. Izuku's eyes widened as he quickly snatched the package from her hand. Before she could comment on how rude that was , Izuku quickly opened the letter, only for a weird shaped disk to fall from within.

"Umm auntie what is this?" He questioned. As he poked at the thing with a gloved hand.

Midnight sighed. "Well before YOU rudely took it from my hands, I didn't get the chance to explain to you, but push the gold button there." She said in annoyance.

Izuku complied as a beam of light shot out from the thing, before displaying a hologram for all of them to see.

"I AM HERE!"

"All might?" Izuku questioned aloud. He had not seen much of the hero, but here he was standing as a hologram.

"CONGRATULATIONS YOUNG MIDORIYA, YOU PASSED THE EXAMS!" Hologram Might yelled out.

Izuku tilted his head, he knew he aced the written, but as for the practical he had a measly fifteen points to his name. Maybe he got in through into General Ed?

Before he could think about it anymore, the Hologram All Might continued.

"LOOK HERE YOUNG LAD! THE TEST WAS BASED OFF OF HOW MANY POINTS YOU CAN GET BY DESTROYING THE 'VILLAINS', BUT IT WASN'T THE ONLY THING WERE WERE GRADING YOU ON!"

Izuku looked on as he saw a third person view of him using his quirk on zero pointer from a week ago, his parents gasped in shock as it was completely frozen still, a large crack running down the middle. Before it could go onto the scream of agony he released out afterwards, the video cut off back to All Might.

"WE ALSO WERE SCORING SOMETHING CALLED RESCUE POINTS! AND YOU SHOWED TRUE HEROISM AS YOU STEPPED INTO SAVE YOUNG OCHACO URARAKA!"

The screen cut quickly to show the girl from under him, staring up at him with stars in her eyes. Izuku clutched his chest, as he stared on. He felt his tears coming once again.

"YOUNG URARAKA EVEN ASKED IF SHE COULD GIVE YOU SOME OF HER OWN POINTS."

It cut off again, showing an exchange between the Uraraka and Present Mic.

"Yes! How may I help you?!" The loud hero let out

"Umm I was wondering if I could give my points to someone...you know that kid with the green hair and freckles? Looks kinda plain?" Hologram Uraraka was poking her fingers together in nervousness.

Hologram Present Mic however laughed at the girl before him as he ruffled up her hair.

"Worry not! You don't need to worry about that boy, plus I can't move points around like that!"

The feed then cut back to All Might once more.

"YOU MADE A LASTING IMPRESSION ON THAT GIRL, AND YOUR TOTAL POINTS FOR THE ENTIRE EXAM WAS A ONE HUNDRED PERCENT ON THE WRITTEN, AND SEVENTY-EIGHT ON THE PRACTICAL. MAKING YOU FIRST PLACE CONGRATULATIONS YOUNG MIDORIYA!"

Izuku could barely contain his emotions as he finally let everything spill out. So much doubt and self loathing had prevented him from seeing anything anymore. This moment allowed him to feel again as he felt his mother and father tackle their son into a loving hug.

"MY BABY BOY DID IT!" Inko ugly sobbed out.

"Good shit son! I knew you could do it!" He accidentally cussed out, he was excited his son would be going to his dream school.

Midnight looked at the scene with a smile on her face. Her nephew had done it, he was going to be attending the number hero school in all of Japan. She joined on the hug as Hologram Might said once last thing.

"WELCOME IZUKU, FOR THIS IS YOUR HERO ACADEMIA!"

Izuku smiled at this words, feeling the warmth his family was giving him. He was going to be going to the same school All Might went to, not to mention his lovely auntie did as well! This was just the start of his journey and he could not wait to embark on it. Even though he still had many underlying problems that had yet to be spoken aloud about, he felt happiness as he was finally accepted into his dream school.

* * *

Setsuna Tokage was excited, today would be her first day at U.A.! She was excited to make so many new friends, and make her quirk all the more powerful to become one of the best heroes there ever was! She walked along her best friend Toru Hagakure who was talking up an excited storm.

"Can you believe it Una! We are finally here! Imagine all the new people we are going to meet!" Toru paused nudging her friend gently on the side. "All the cute boys we will see ehhhh?"

Setsuna looked to her friend as they entered the gate, laughing at her joke.

"Cute boys really Toru? You should really get your head out of yo-"

Fate was a funny thing, and 'she' could be a major bitch at times, but it seemed this time fate wanted to play nice.

Setsuna had tripped in her distraction, failing to notice the unevenness of the piece of pavement below her. Much to her embarrassment, on her fall she fell on top of someone bringing them along with her. They bumped their heads together as they hit the ground, sending both of their eye sight spinning.

She raised a hand to her head, rubbing where she felt a bump forming. She heard gasps from all around her as her vision cleared, only to realize she was now laying on top of a boy...a boy with green hair, four freckles on his cheek, and a major blush on his face.

She quickly sputtered out apologies as she tried standing on her feet.

"I-It's you…"

Before she could get up she got a better look at the captive below her. Her eyes widened when she saw the all to familiar looking boy. Her face blushing to match her victims.

"I-It's y-you.." She stuttered out as well.

Itsuka and Katsuki looked at the display in confusion, did Izuku know this girl from somewhere?

Toru. Toru Hagakure, the invisible girl extraordinaire let out a shrill of excitement as she looked to her friend and the 'mysterious' boy below her.

"NO FREAKING WAY!" Toru called out. "Setsuna! It's him isn't it?!"

Izuku gasped at the girls name, a sudden flood of memories flashed before his eyes. He remembered the girl he helped at the park. Setsuna. He remembered the girl from the restaurant, this was her. SETSUNA TOKAGE. It all came to him; why she looked so familiar at the restaurant, why when he stared at her face so close to his own it made his heart race.

"Uhh Izuku? Mind filling us in on what's happening? Also you should probably stand up." Itsuka questioned.

Setsuna gasped herself at the boys name, she too experienced a flood of memories overwhelm her very being. She remembered how she reached over to her not then pet lizard, only to fall down from the tree scraping her knee. She remembered how this kind and caring boy came to her aid and helped her. _My first hero. _Her heart rate increased as she toyed with his name in her head.** "Izuku….IZUKU MIDORIYA!"** She suddenly remembered. This was the same boy from all those years ago, and the same boy from the restaurant.

She quickly got to her feet as she looked to the boy in shock, her ears were ringing, and her face was _hot_.

Izuku himself stood up, staring at Setsuna before him. Neither of them talked as they just stared at one another. Everyone seemed to fade out of existence as the two slowly walked up to one another.

"**Was this fate?" **They both thought to themselves as they closed the distance.

They were finally going to get the answers they had been searching for, it's been a long time coming.

* * *

_OOOPS. Have a wonderful, day, evening or night. _


	7. Chapter 7

_Man I just cannot stop typing, send help. As Always. Enjoy._

* * *

Questions and A Start

The students of U.A this morning were treated to the most wondrous of days that Japan had seen in a few years. The students new school year has just started, they had passed the entrance exams, or it was the start of their second or third years for others. It was a beautiful sunny day out, not to hot, just the right amount of sun with the gentlest of breezes flowing through all their hair and skin. The start of an amazing first day for many; and for a certain two green haired students, what exactly was this the start of?

It was an odd sight for those who happened to stop by and see it. The poor teenage girl had tripped over, right on top of another teenage boy. It looked like one of those rom-com tropes, a fate encounter between two individuals, that would soon blossom into love. To the surprise of many however, they actually knew each other! A previous history it seemed, and if that did not sound romantic enough, the two were actually walking up to one another! Fate sometimes was a beautiful thing to watch.

Setsuna was in a trance, the greened hair before her, now known as Izuku Midoriya, was someone she had been looking searching for. Was it for fulfillment, or something more? Whatever the case she now stood in front of Izuku, the two of them keeping a good five feet apart. She was staring into his eyes, from what she could remember they used to shine so bright with their emerald hue, but as she looked into them, it seemed that glow was all but gone. She hated that for some reason.

Izuku could barely keep himself from falling over as he stared at the girl who had unknowingly bewitched him. He felt so small under her strong gaze, she made him very, very nervous. He could feel a cold sweat coming on as her gaze just seemed to be looking at every part of him. His gaze was no better however, as he took in every inch that was her; he felt a little shameful as his hormonal induced mind 'happened' to glance at the particular parts of her that only her gender would have. He liked. As his eyes continued their 'onslaught' he noticed the first thing he should have, on her left knee was the knowing scar that started this all, even if they had only seen each other three times since.

Setsuna grew a little self conscious as she saw what exactly he was staring at, the bag she was carrying with her, that had the usual school supplies one needed for school, was placed over the marred piece of skin. She looked to the side slightly, she did not know why, but it made her skin tingle when he looked at the scar. It wasn't anything bad, it was just a scraped piece of skin that clotted over like any would. A mark on her otherwise pristine milky smooth complexion. She blushed harder, she could still feel his intense gaze, it made her feel so small, but she surprisingly liked it.

"She's so beautiful…" Izuku thought to himself.

Setsuna looked to him in shock, a hand over her mouth. She felt herself shake in her shoes, as she placed her bag over her face. She was smiling, smiling like an idiot while hidding behind the bag.

"You said that out loud dumb ass."

Izuku jumped at the sudden voice. He looked around him to see Katsuki and Itsuka were still standing there. Not to mention what seemed like the whole entire school was looking at the display in rapt attention. He grew pale, he was at school, his first day no less, and already garnered the full attention of everyone.

"I know you Deku, you would never say that sort of shit out loud. So your dumb ass thought, you 'thought' of that, but you actually said it out loud." The blonde explained.

Izuku looked to his friend in morbid realization, Itsuka next to him was cracking up, slapping her knees and wheezing.

"Izuku! Oh man! You're something else dude." Itsuka paused, looking to her cellphone. "Well I'm off to class guys, there's only like a five minutes left!" With that Itsuka took off.

Many students themselves checked their own watches or cellphones, and panicked as they all stampeded into the main building, to make it to their classes. It was a disaster, and Izuku forgot about his own embarrassment as he dashed away from the scene himself.

Setsuna felt herself get pulled along by a hand as she was led into the main building. Her eyes were held open as her best friend Toru tugged her along.

"Sorry Una! It's a good thing our classes are next to each other, eh?"

Setsuna was sadly in class 1-B while her best friend was in 1-A, so that meant the two would be separated all throughout the day except for lunch, and their shared walk home. She barely had time to react when she was pushed into her own class by her best friend.

"See you at lunch Una!" Her friend exclaimed as she ran to the door down the hall.

Setsuna chuckled a bit as she looked into the classroom she was so carelessly tossed into. All new faces from what she could tell; except the girl with orange hair sat near the front of the class. Said girl was waving her way with a large grin that could rival her own.

She smiled in return; Setsuna took that as an invitation to sit in the empty seat right next to the orange haired girl, who only grinned wider as she approached.

"Well if it isn't it one of the lovebirds" the orange hair quipped, laughing as she said so.

Setsuna blushed lightly as she sat herself down, laughing uproariously at what her orange haired classmate said.

"Guess you saw that huh?" Setsuna gave a nervous chuckle, scratching her cheek slightly.

"Yup! I would say almost the whole school saw it!" Itsuka held out her hand. "Itsuka Kendo by the way."

Setsuna grinned toothily reaching a hand of her own.

"Setsuna Tokage, nice to meet you."

They shook each other's hands, smiling at one another.

"Well Tokage, I sure have a lot of questions for you.." The door to their home room opened, and in walked a gruff looking man. "but I guess I can save them for later."

"STUDENTS!" The man exclaimed. "Welcome to U.A." He paused, looking out to the new students before him. **"Hmm, they look promising at first glance."** He thought to himself.

All the students of 1-B were staring at the man before them, they knew he had to have been a pro hero, especially with the way he was dressed in a costume. Also this man was huge, he was formed out of pure muscle and mass that would send any villain for the hills.

"My name is Sekijiro Kan, but you shall refer to me as Kan-Sensei. I am your homeroom teacher!" He announced.

Some students winced at their home room teachers first sudden loud introduction, but as the man spoke calmly afterwards they only looked at the large man in continued awe.

"Hey aren't you Vlad King, the pro-hero who fights with their own blood?!" A rather plain looking student said, his brown hair the only thing that distinguished him from the rest.

The class gasped and shrieked in horror, either from having such a well known hero as their teacher, or because having a quirk that fights with your own 'life force' sounded gruesome. The teacher seemed to growl slightly at this but gave a sigh.

"Yes. I am the pro hero Vlad King, but like I said REFER TO ME AS KAN-SENSEI." He shouted back.

Said student shook in their seat slightly, giving a shaky nod. The other students themselves gulped, this man had an intimidating presence that was for sure.

"Y-Yes Kan-Sensei I apologize." The students mumbled out.

Kan continued. "Congratulations to everyone who made it here to 1-B, but introductions will be held for later, we are going to the orientation. FORM A LINE."

Chairs hurriedly scrambled about as the students quickly lined up by the door. Setsuna and Itsuka had stuck by each other, while an interesting looking girl with horns stood in front of Itsuka; with Setsuna behind her orange haired friend? She felt like fixing that.

"Pssst, Hey Kendo. Wanna be friends?" She bluntly stated. Setsuna always prided herself with her outgoing and friendly personality, it was how she made so many friends back at home.

Kendo gave a small chuckle at this but nodded her head all the same.

"Sure thing Tokage, but we have to stay quiet for now." Itsuka whispered back.

With that the students were marched out of the classroom, heading straight for the auditorium that could house over twenty thousand people. As they neared their designated seating, the class of 1-B noticed a rather large empty section next to theirs.

They filed into their seats as their teacher Vlad-King excused himself, moving away to sit with the other faculty members.

Class 1-B started talking among themselves, asking for each other's names, their quirks, the basics. Others on the other hand, were wondering where their sister classroom could possibly be. It seemed odd that they would be late on such an important introduction to the school.

It seemed a couple of second year students noticed this and called out to a few of them.

"You guys must be 1-B right?" A girl with spikes as hair asked of them.

Some stopped their conversations to agree aloud.

"HA! Count yourselves lucky, you just earned yourselves a one way ticket to your second year." She laughed, some of her fellow second years joining along.

"Uhh what do you mean by that?" A boy with weird beige looking eyelashes said. It almost looked like he was wearing a mask.

"Class 1-A as we speak, are already expelled knowing Aizawa-Sensei." The upperclassman looked at them in pity. "Though Kan-Sensei isn't any easier, I still wish you luck all the same!"

Class 1-B were in shock with what they were just told, some sighed in relief, while others like Itsuka and Setsuna looked over to where the class should of been in worry.

"Shit, Izuku and Katsuki are in that class…" Itsuka trailed off.

"My friend Toru is in that class as well..." Setsuna said in worry.

The two students looked to one another, this was not good, not one bit.

Vlad King walked up to his fellow first year teachers, sitting besides Midnight, the modern arts teacher. He noticed the obvious lack of Eraserhead that would of, no SHOULD OF, been sitting between Present Mic and Midnight.

"Let me guess, he's already going to try and expel his class huh." He grumbled out.

Midnight gave a sad sigh at this, looking to the empty seat beside her.

"Yup, what else is new? I would of thought our talk with him would have changed his ways, but I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks." Midnight was particularly ticked off about this because her nephew happened to land in that class. Which with his first place sitting, it was inevitable.

"I take offense to that." Said a man with a dog head, Hound Dog, the student lifestyle counselor.

Midnight offered the man a nervous laugh in apology, waving her hand in his direction.

"Yeah Man! Shoto sure can be a buster! He needs to like mega-chilllllllll" Present Mic said. The two were close friends, having known each other back when they attended U.A themselves. Heck Present Mic had given Aizawa his hero name.

Vlad King sighed, he was not looking forward to another boring year if it meant half of Aizawa's class was not here.

"Well here's hoping those kids actually impress him." He said finally.

* * *

In the middle of his run to class, Izuku had forgotten a key thing he was discussing with his two friends about, before Setsuna had fallen on him. He needed to use the restroom.

He took a slight detour, figuring he would be able to make a mad dash back to class in time, and luckily he managed to pull it off.

He stood in front of the largest door he had ever seen in his life, it had to easily be the size of a two story house! Then that got him thinking how big were the actual classrooms themselves with how far the doors from the other classes from one anther; and if the desk were the size of a full fledged kitchen tables?

He continued his musings as he opened the door into his new class. He had barely made it on time, with two minutes to spare. He had noticed a commotion from outside the classroom, and figured it had to have been the fault of a certain hotheaded friend of his.

He was correct to assume such a thing as he was treated to the sight of Katsuki, Kacchan known to him, with his feet on top of his desk. His shirt was un-tucked, and he had the top few buttons open, lacking a tie that was part of the uniform. Judging by the fellow classmate Kacchan was arguing with, he knew for a fact that this straight edged teen was flabbergasted by what the blonde was doing, and by the way he donned the U.A uniform.

"Get your feet off the desk!" He shrieked. "It is disrespectful to our upperclassmen, and the craftsmanship that went into making them!"

Izuku sighed, well so much for Kacchan making any friends.

"Ehh Huh? You same something you extra?" Katsuki the whole time had been picking at his ear, just now noticing someone was actually talking to him in the first place.

This got the dark blue haired boy fuming, as he robotically chopped his hand towards the other.

"The audacity, you should be ashamed wearing the U.A uniform with such an attitude!"

Katsuki took his foot off the desk, staring at the boy with a murderous smile.

"Mind running that by me again four eyes?"

Before a fight could break out Izuku had called out to his hotheaded comrade, hoping to quell any hostilities from the others.

"Come on Kacchan, you promised Itsuka and I you would play nice."

Itsuka and Izuku were worried for their friend entering a new environment, especially with how shitty his attitude was, it would reflect poorly for the blonde; but in reality it would look bad for the other two, since they would be associated with him, and they had not wanted to make any enemies that was for sure.

Katsuki's simply scoffed and crossed his arms in annoyance, sitting down in the chair slouched, but still visibly upset.

"I swear Deku, if you were one of these extras I would of pulverized you on the spot."

His other classmates that were paying attention to the interaction gasped at what he had referred to the green haired boy as; but then they gasped louder for being referred to as 'extras'.

The dark blue haired boy noticed Izuku then, and stoically marched towards him.

"Hello I am Tenya Lida. You noticed the true part of the test didn't you?"

Izuku looked to the teen in confusion, was he referring to the entrance exam?

"Umm what are you talking about?" Izuku wondered.

Tenya then bowed slightly to the boy. "You noticed that the test had other points of value than just mere combat points, which is why you got first place of all the hero course examinees."

The students of class 1-A gasped at this, looking to the plain looking boy before them. He wasn't roided out like some would have thought a first place holder would have been. He just looked physically fit, decently tall, and not much else.

"Hey! Your that plain looking boy who saved me from the zero pointer!" A squeaky voice called out from the door.

Izuku turned around in slight surprise at the voice, only to see the girl from the exam. Who was excitedly waving her fist up in down while staring at him. He smiled her way giving her a small wave.

"Umm yea, that's me alright. Sorry about the whole screaming thing." He chuckled nervously to himself.

Uraraka winced at this, "Oh yeah, ummm that must of hurt a lot huh?" She theorized that's why he had screamed, but in reality it was only the half of it.

Before any more conversations could be brought about, a caterpillar the size of a human slithered into the classroom. Causing a pink skinned girl to scream, as well as a feminine looking boy with blonde hair.

"Take your seats." A groggy voice from within said, now standing upright in front of the class.

Before anyone else could scream, a face poked out of an opening at the top, revealing a face of night mares. Bloodshot eyes, ragged hair, and a scruffy face only a mother could love; this man had a look of pure annoyance all over.

Quickly the rest that were standing scrambled about into their seats, wondering if by chance a homeless person had snuck themselves into the school.

Slowly the classes various murmurs quieted down as they looked to this man. Which was followed by an annoyed sigh, and a beep from inside his cocoon.

"It took a total of eight seconds for all of you to calm down." He held a stop watch for them to see. "Even the most rational of students would have done been better. Time is of the essence."

Then to the slight disgust of the others, and wonderment of the rest, he pulled out a bunch of uniforms from the 'cocoon', throwing them to the ground below.

"Here, this is your PE uniform, put them on meet me in the courtyard in five minutes. We have no time to waste." With that the grumpy man exited the cocoon, carryiing his 'shell' along with him walking to god knows where.

It seemed the same sentiment was shared between all of them as a pair of floating clothes spoke for them all.

"How are we going to know where the courtyard is, if we aren't even at orientation?!"

* * *

Luckily it seemed the class had made it on time, and judging by their homeroom teacher, looking to them slightly impressed, they were fine for now.

"Well I'll be, you all found your way. Alright let's get started." He was about to continue, but was interrupted by a girl with a permanent blush on her cheeks.

"Umm, we are going to miss orientation Aizawa-Sensei.." Uraraka had stated.

The other students mumbling in agreement.

He sighed once more. "Here at U.A we take pride in allowing the educators to teach how they see fit. So I say it is useless for all of you to waste your time at the orientation. My class, my rules."

The students looked at each other in worry, wondering what exactly they had gotten themselves into.

"All of you throughout middle school had the basic physical aptitude test; however in these test you were never allowed to use your quirks. Today we are going to change that and see your true potential. Katsuki Bakugo." Aizawa called out.

Katsuki looked to his teacher in attention, feeling indifferent under his gaze.

"You scored the highest amount of villain points in the exam. What was the farthest you threw a softball in middle school?"

"About sixty-four meters." He bluntly stated.

"Good, now use your quirk while you throw this time."

Katsuki walked up to his teacher, taking the ball from his hand, "Alright if you say so."

Katsuki took position, holding the ball in his right arm. With a smile that screamed evil, he activated his quirk while throwing the ball. "DIE!"

At his comment, the students of 1-A grimaced, while Izuku smiled gently to his friend. **"Yeah he's still the same alright."**

As the ball landed way off in the distance, Aizawa held a device up for them to see a number on the screen reading a bit over seven hundred meters.

The class gasped at the ridiculously high number.

"As you all can see, you have been held back all your lives. Izuku Midoriya, you're up next. Since you placed first over all the students who took the exam, let's see what you can do."

Izuku felt a little embarrassed at being out on 'blast' in such a way, but nonetheless took another ball from his teachers hand.

"No offense Aizawa-Sensei, but my quirk isn't exactly made out for this."

"Midoriya just throw the ball, stop wasting our time."

Izuku winced at his teachers remark, but removed the green gloves he was wearing for the day. The ball in his hand immediately turned to stone, while to some of the other students who did not know of his quirk, wondered why it was now grey. He stuffed the gloves into his pockets for now, knowing he was not going to need them for the rest of the testing.

With as much strength as he could, he threw the softball a moderate distance away, it landing a surprising one hundred forty-six meters away. Izuku actually felt kind of proud at the distance, and judging by how the others threw the ball, when he had finished his turn; he easily ranked about top five out of the twenty in his class.

Uraraka on the other hand had simply touched the ball with her fingers, sending the ball high into the sky, all the way into space; the gauge meter reading a whopping infinity.

"INFINITY?!" Some of the students exclaimed.

Izuku was curious about her quirk however, **"It resembles mine down to the skin, but she doesn't wear gloves like me, which must mean she can turn it off?" **He was for sure going to ask her a couple of questions when he had the chance.

"Hey this is actually a lot of fun!" The pink skinned girl cheered.

"Yeah, this is what we have been waiting for, a chance to use our quirks!" Another boy agreed with, he had odd looking elbows.

A menacing aura filled the air around the students as they looked to their teacher in worry, he looked to all of them, a smile on his face; but it was not friendly one, not one bit.

"Oh so this is a game to you all huh? Well don't worry let's make this a bit more 'fun' for you all. The student who places last in these tests will be expelled."

A few of the students gasped at what they had just heard, Uraraka was the first to speak.

"You can't just expel one of us on the first day! We just got here, that's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair kid. You think heroes have it fair when they have to face a villain who's quirk overpowers their own? You think natural disasters are fair to the poor people who are involved with them? Life isn't fair for a hero, you all better get used to it, especially if you bunch want to be decent heroes."

Izuku had scored average throughout all the test. When it came to the fifty meter dash, he was placed up against Kacchan. His best friend easily using his quirk to propel himself past him, getting a staggering 4.20 seconds at the finish. Izuku however got a 6.60 seconds, he prides himself in beating Ituska and Katsuki in sprints, but with the use of quirks, it left him in the dust.

The strength grip test was particularly interesting, Izuku could not really get a score since his touch immediately broke the machine, encasing it in stone. Aizawa had given him a two hundred kilogram reading for that one, since it was out of his control in every way.

Aizawa for some reason took a particular liking to this kid. He wasn't anything to be impressed about, placing average in all the testing; but when it came to all of his students, he felt the young Midoriya had the most interesting and versatile quirk of them all. **"Better keep my on this kid for now.."** He thought to himself.

The side steps was another weird event, as a student with purple balls for hair easily bounced back and forth between while using his quirk. Allowing him to outscore everyone by miles.

The sit and toe-touch test Izuku was rather proud of himself with. With a deep concentration, he was able to push the measurer a good distance away, while channeling his quirk to go around the thing. It allowed him in that split second to push the thing as far as he could. Allowing him to actually score relatively high, boosting him up the rankings. If he had not mastered his quirk in such a way, he was sure he would of have scored a zero on it.

The sit ups he placed top three, it being a standard warm up at the dojo, and the long distance run he was able to keep up with his best friend since they always warmed up themselves with long distance running, but a tall rather attractive girl in a ponytail ran circles around them as she made an actual bicycle to complete the course.

Overall when the scorings were finalized, and many of the students looked on in fear. Many sighed in relief, while a purple ball haired boy cried in anguish. Izuku felt pity for the boy, scoring a twentieth place must of been soul crushing; Izuku however had placed seventh in the rankings, something he knew his fellow classmates would raise their brows at. I mean after all he had placed first out of all the participants in the exam, how could he not have been number one?

"Oh by the way, I lied about expelling the last place holder."

"YOU WHAT!" Many shouted in annoyance, while the boy who placed last cried tears of absolute joy.

"Calm down. I lied so you all would give it your all with such high stakes riding on your shoulders. Congratulations, you're the first class I've ever kept beyond the first day. Do not disappoint me."

With that Aizawa began walking to the main building waving to the students behind him, "That's all we had planned for you today, go back home and rest. Come back tomorrow, and don't dare be late. Heroes do not waste time."

As he entered the building, the class let out a collective groan, while a few others started walking away to homeroom to gather their stuff. Namely a hetero-chromatic teen who seemed to be the embodiment of brooding.

"Shit Deku, and here I thought you'd place a little higher, you're getting weak."

Izuku turned to his friend, rubbing his head slightly. "Well you know Kacchan my quirk isn't actually the best for these sorts of things, unlike yours."

"Pffff, please I know it." Katsuki bragged out.

"Now you're just full of yourself you know that?" Izuku sighed out.

Katuski slapped his friend on the back chortling like a mad man.

Izuku had almost forgotten he was not wearing his gloves, and reached into his pockets to put them on once more, however he was tapped lightly on the shoulder.

"Hey Deku, why do you wear those gloves?"

Izuku winced slightly at her use of that nickname, he turned to face Uraraka offering her a kind smile.

"Umm if you don't mind Uraraka, could you not call me that? Midoriya is fine." He hoped he did not sound too pushy.

Uraraka looked to the boy in confusion, joining the two on the walk back to class.

"Oh umm my bad Midoriya, I just liked the sound of it, gives me a 'never give up' kind of vibe." She explained.

"**Well now I just feel like a dick."** He thought to himself.

"Listen Round Face, only I can call him Deku fuck off."

"**Guess who's the dick now?"** Izuku paled while looking to his friend.

Uraraka on the other hand looked like she had seen a puppy get stepped on. Izuku quickly acted hoping to alleviate the tension his friend had caused.

"Ehh don't mind him Uraraka sorry he comes off like a major asshole, he does mean well."

"OI! Who the fuck do you think you are putting words in my mouth again DEKU?!"

Uraraka sweat dropped as she watched the two argue, wondering if she should just slip away; but she could not stop however since she was so perplexed by his gloves, especially since they resembled the exact same ones she slept at night with.

"Kacchan just please play nice dude come on, you're gonna make Itsuka and I look bad."

"And why the fuck should I care how I make you two feel huh?!" He angrily argued back.

"Because we are the only two who actually tolerate your ass."

The sudden voice interruption alerted the three of a new guest who was walking towards them. Itsuka Kendo looked to the two arguing idiots, while giving a small curious glance over to Uraraka.

"Uraraka? What are you doing here?"

"Oh Kendo! I was just asking De-...erm I mean Midoriya here a question on why he wears those gloves all the time, but Bakugo here is really mean…" Uraraka trailed off, giving the blonde a worrisome side glance.

"OI Round Face, how about you fuc-"

Itsuka gave him a slight chop to the neck, stopping his verbal lashing that was soon to follow. Katuski recovered quickly, a menacing look in his eyes.

"MAN HANDS I SWEAR IF YOU HIT ME ONE MORE TIME!"

Itsuka simply rolled her eyes at this as she ignored him for now.

"Yeah Izuku, tell the pretty girl why you were those gloves all the time eh?" She teased out.

Izuku simply chuckled as he looked to Uraraka, who was blushing more than she permanently was from her comment.

"Well Uraraka, I wear these gloves to stop my quirk from being 'set loose'." He said while adding air quotes around the two words.

"Umm I don't follow…"

"My quirk cannot be 'turned off', and because of this no matter what if the bare skin of my hands touches anything, it gets turned into stone."

"Oh." She simply let out, a finger in her chin in thought.

Before Izuku could talk again, she interrupted him.

"It's like my quirk! Anything I touch with these five pink pads on my fingers, they become weightless!"

Izuku stared in wonder at the girl, he felt his mind and hands itching for his notebook, which such a quirk like that at Uraraka's disposal, the possibilities were endless!

"URARAKA! That quirk is amazing! Such a thing is the dream of man! Such a quirk like this could forever change physics as we know it! Not to mention with how identical it is to mine, why don't you wear gloves all the time? Is it possible you can turn it off, man how lucky! Is there a limit to how much you can lift? Is there a limit to how many things you can make weightless, like how I have my own limit on how much stuff I can keep in stone! And why are you looking at me like that?"

Uraraka felt her eyes going dizzy with how fast Izuku had been talking, the boys endless muttering only coming to a stop when he realized she was looking at him strangely. Uraraka found it interesting, Katuski simply ignored it, while Ituska simple chuckled at her friend's expense.

"You know Izuku, when you talk like that, I'm surprised it just doesn't send every girl running for the hills." She jokingly let out.

Izuku blushed, face palming into his hand lightly.

"S-Sorry Uraraka I have a tendency to go off when I hear about new and interesting quirks."

Uraraka simply nodded, still staring at the boy as if he was a ghost. By now they had re entered the main building Itsuka had just left out of, having collected her stuff a few minutes prior as her class finished the orientation. Itsuka looked to Izuku, a devilish smile on her face.

"Speaking of girls, oh Izuku~!" She paused looking at the way her voice made him feel uncomfortable. "Guess what 'beautiful' girl I have in my class!"

Izuku's face went red hot, he had completely forgotten all about that. All of today's events had thrown him for a loop.

"And guess who wants to meet you in the next five minutes!"

Izuku did not know what possessed him, but he made a run for it. Maybe all the confidence he felt from earlier was a spur of the moment kind of thing, and he made this evident by taking off in a full sprint away from the three.

"Wait! Izuku! I was kidding!" She yelled out to him, but he was already long gone.

"Umm what just happened?" Uraraka asked aloud.

"Were you actually kidding Itsuka, it sure looked like that girl wanted to talk to him." Katsuki plainly let out. He was not one for romance, not one bit, but he was curious who this girl exactly was, and why Izuku turned tail like a little bitch.

Itsuka sighed as her friend disappeared into the distance, exiting out of the building.

"No I actually wasn't kidding, I was just hoping it would get him to come back."

Katsuki sighed as he walked away, making his way to pick up his stuff.

"Fucking dork. Whatever I'll get his shit and drop it off at his house, I bet that's where he is running off to anyways." He grumbled out as he entered the classroom.

"Eheh ummm yeah Kendo! I need to get my stuff too, you won't even believe what Aizawa-Sensei made us do today…"

Itsuka gave her a smile full of pity. "Oh don't worry, some of the second years let us in on his certain 'teaching habits', but judging by your threes good spirits all went well?"

Uraraka scratched her cheek awkwardly, smiling herself. "Yeah you could say that, no one was expelled at least!" She chirped out.

That made Itsuka happy, especially knowing her two best friends were not going anywhere anytime soon. It was like a burden being lifted from her shoulders. Katsuki came out of the classroom, carrying an extra bag along with him, the same annoyed scowl on his face was still there.

"See you tomorrow Itsuka, I'll make sure that fucking idiot comes tomorrow knowing him."

"Yeah please do Katuski." Itsuka smiled. "Damn now I don't know what I'm gonna tell Tokage in a minute."

Katsuki did not care, he simply walked away heading home for the day; giving a small wave behind his back as did so.

"Well Kendo I'll see you around!" Uraraka happily said.

The bubbly girl went into the classroom while Itsuka gave her a wave goodbye.

Itsuka decided it was inevitable, and made her way back down to a fountain by the front of the school. She knew for a fact that Tokage would be waiting there, and she was correct to assume so as she walked towards the area; but what surprised her was an extra set of floating clothes standing beside her.

"Hey Kendo!" Setsuna called out excitedly. She nervously looked around the girl, but saw it was just her.

"Hey Tokage, well he ran off."

Setsuna shouted out in joy.

"OH THANK GOD. Kendo I was so freaking nervous I was about to run my self, but someone here wouldn't let me." She said while giving her other friend a glare.

Speaking of said friend, she did not seem all to happy about this turn of events.

"He what?!"

"Yup! Just turned tail and ran for the hills, and you are?" Itsuka questioned.

"I'm Toru Hagakure, student of 1-A, and this girl's best friend; nice to meet you!" Toru happily explained.

Itsuka smiled. "Likewise! I'm Itsuka Kendo, that idiots best friend who ran off, and student of 1-B."

"Yup! Una here was telling me all about it, weren't you Una?"

Setsuna chuckled as she nodded her head.

"Yeah I had hoped it would calm my nerves before you brought him by, but I'm actually relieved he ran." She sighed out.

"Why's that?" Itsuka wondered.

Setsuna audibly gulped. "Ummm he makes me nervous….like really nervous." She paused. "Not in the bad way though, I just feel stupid around him you feel?"

Itsuka nodded her head slightly at this, she didn't understand any of that romance nonsense or whatever, but sh felt she could relate atleast.

"Well HE IS the boy you've been stuck on since preschool you dingus." Toru bluntly stated.

Itsuka raised a single brow at this, Tokage had not told her about that. She had just said they met a long time ago when they were three, and at a restaurant in Saitama, one she had been to twice with Izuku's family when they would invite her out over there.

Setsuna blushed, looking to the ground. "Well I can't help it Toru! He's such an enigma...but now that he's here I don't know if I want to finally talk." She paused looking at the two. "Around HIM only I just feel dumb and ugly, like it's super weird! I'm never like this, I'm usually the one making questionable comments or teasing others! But this damned boy makes me weak all over!"

Setsuna was not upset in the slightest, she was actually ecstatic in knowing Izuku was coming to this exact same school, her sister classroom no less! Yet, she just felt like a whole different person around him, she did not feel her usual 'quirky' self that would annoy others to no end. Around him, she felt like the stereotypical school girl and her crush. It made her feel sick, but the good kind of sick if that made sense.

Toru spoke first after her friends little vent session.

"You know Una, you guys are going to talk eventually right? And if you try running away, I'll make you stay." She warned. "Right Kendo?"

Itsuka did not know why she was being thrown into this but shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah sure, I'll make sure Izuku doesn't run of either next time. Sooner or later you guys will talk~!"

Setsuna looked to the two in complete betrayal. She thought she could prolong it for as long as she could, but with these two around, it looks like she had others to decide her fate this time. It's not like she did not want to finally talk to the boy that had been alluding her for so long, but now that the opportunity was right in front of her, could anyone blame her for feeling so nervous about it all?

* * *

Izuku was running as if his very life depended on it. He did not know why exactly he was running to begin with. It confused him on just the mentioning of Setsuna wanting to talk to him set his heart into a frenzy, making him run for the hills. Then again most of his life he had been around Itsuka, and other than his family, that was the only girl he was exposed to most of the time.

"**Then again, even when Uraraka talked to me I didn't feel….feel like whatever this is."** He thought to himself.

Whatever the case, Izuku felt ashamed having ran off the way he did; and when he entered his house the shame had not gone away one bit. He figured the best thing he could do was talk to his parents about it. He was trying to be open with them more, even if he was still keeping things from them.

"Oh Izuku? You're home early what happened?" Inko called out, who was in the middle of washing some dishes.

"Today was only the orientation mom, so they let us out early to be ready for tomorrow." He explained.

"Oh that makes sense. Baby are you alright? You look a little red?"

Izuku had not realized but he was winded from the run, having only time to breathe while riding the train; but he ran all the way back home, which was ten minutes away from the station.

"Oh uhh I'll explain why right now, is dad home?"

"Yes I am dad, and I am home." Hisashi called out from the bathroom. In which a groan came forth from the door.

"Ummmm?" Izuku did not really want to know.

"Oh your father has an upset stomach, all his day off today he's just been in the bathroom. That poor man." Yet with the way she was laughing, Inko found her husbands suffering hilarious.

Izuku gave his own chuckle at his fathers suffering, "Dang that sucks dad! Though there was something I wanted to talk to you two about."

His mother looked to him in concern, shutting the water off for now.

"Of course Izuku, your father will be out in a bit okay? Hisashi! Hurry up!" She called out to her suffering spouse.

"I'm trying!" He cried back. "Don't worry son I'll…." he paused, Izuku did not like the sound of that. "Uhhh I'll be out in a minute guys."

Eventually the sound of a flushing toilet and running water from the sink, alerted the other two he was finished. Hisashi came out of the bathroom, patting his stomach slightly while giving a sigh.

"Phewww, sorry son, what's up?"

Izuku sat down at the kitchen table, his parents following suit. They looked to him expectantly as Izuku wondered how exactly he was going to talk about such a silly problem.

"Well you guys know how I've been around Itsuka a lot right? Well something happened at school today. I have these weird feelings in me because of it." He figured that was a good start.

His mother gasped, while his father shook his head knowingly.

"Ahh! Son you're a growing boy it's understandable." His father concluded with.

"Uhh what are you talking about?" Izuku questioned.

Inko spoke next, "Wow Izuku I guess it's our fault for not talking about the 'birds and the bees' with you." She looked away in embarrassment, this was a conversation she was not looking forward to.

"'Birds and the bees'? Why the heck would you bring that up all of a sudden, also I'm fourteen I already know about that stuff!"

Inko paled at the thought while Hisashi smiled lightly.

"Oh we know son, but we need to make sure you don't do anything risky with Itsuka, you are both too young for kids, but we understand you're both teens trying to figure out things don't be ashamed." Hisashi thought to himself for a second, **"I guess I should let Hideki know?"** He chuckled to himself.

Oh. _OH. _

Izuku blushed red hot as he angrily looked to his two parents incredulously, "WHAT!" He shrieked out. "D-Dad! That's not what I meant! Mom! Help me out here?!"

Inko could only look at her son in shame, "Izuku I thought you would have waited longer for such a thing, but I guess you're just like your father and I wh-"

"**OH HELL NO!" **Izuku screamed in his head.

He placed his hands on his ears and childishly blocking out whatever his mother was going to say. He did not _WANT _to here about that part of his parents' relationship, as far as he was concerned they never did..._that…_when he was home. Oh god he hoped that was the case.

"Ugh! This has n-nothing to do with I-Itsuka guys! Bleh! That's just weird to even think about…" He grimaced.

This confused both of his parents as they looked at one another in confusion.

"Well don't keep us waiting son, what did you _mean _then?" Hisashi asked.

Izuku grumbled out annoyed, "Well if you would have waited!"

"Izuku don't talk your father like that!" Inko sternly scolded out, a heated glance in her eye.

"Fuck! Shit! Sorry dad!" He cussed out, big mistake. This was a disaster from the get go.

"IZUKU! Don't you dare curse at your mother!" Hisashi said standing out of his chair in rage.

Izuku slammed his face on the table, letting out a deep and guttural groan.

"Mom, Dad I'm sorry I didn't mean to get upset, but I'm just so confused about these emotions I'm feeling for a girl I saw at school today…" His voice sounded muffled from being well acquainted with the tables surface.

This calmed his parents anger suddenly, girl problems? Is this what was really troubling their son; and it somehow did not involve Itsuka? Hisashi swelled a bit with pride, while Inko felt indifferent for now.

"It's the same girl from the restaurant by auntie Aiko's remember?"

"Yes son we remember, it was quite adorable." Inko confirmed for the both of them.

"Well she was also the same girl I h-helped when scraped her knee…"

His parents grew knowing looks on their faces, maybe this was their sons first experience of a first love?

"Oh how romantic! It's like you two were reunited after so long!" Inko cooed out.

"Yeah what's the problem exactly son?"

"You see she had bumped into me tripping us both, she landed on top of me and we just kinda stared at eachother...while about four hundred students watched." His parents could not see him blushing at the memory as he was still face down, **"Her skin felt so soft…"**

Hisashi laughed out loud over the embarrassment his beloved son must have felt, while Inko chuckled at the thought.

"Well we recognized each other, and I dumbly called her beautiful out loud, and she hid her face behind her bag. I think what I said weirded her out."

The other two parents looked on in sadness at their boy, guess first love in heartbreak is a cruel fate that befalls everyone.

"Then after we were done with class Itsuka had told me that Setsuna, that's her first name by the way….wanted to talk with me."

Inko grew a knowing look, "Let me guess you ran away? And that's why you looked like you ran a marathon when you first came in?"

Izuku nodded his head in shame, he still regretted doing that; the constant nagging in his skull telling him he might have missed an opportunity.

"That's the thing guys!" He said raising his head up, now facing them. "When I'm around Itsuka I never feel that way; but around Setsuna it just feels so different. I can't think properly, I feel dumb as I look into her amazing dark green eyes, I feel myself getting lost in that large toothy grin she has! Also her teeth are just naturally sharp, I mean who wouldn't like that?"

His parents nodded in understanding, smiling at their son's heartfelt confession. They already knew the reason he was feeling this way, but they were enjoying seeing such excitement, yet fear of the unknown, that their son was expressing.

"And she wanted to talk to me afterwards? I couldn't face her guys, I didn't want her to say anything mean to me...and I don't know why I would even think that in the first place."

Inko finally heard enough, and gave the boy a small tug with her quirk. He looked to her in confusion, but his face had a look of hope, one that wondered if she had the answers to how he was feeling; and she sort of did.

"Izuku it's gonna be okay, and you want to know why?" Inko soothed out.

"W-Why?"

"Because something tells me that she just might feel the same, call it a mother's intuition." Inko offered her son a large smile.

"What do you mean?" He asked finally, calming down.

"Well it might just be the hope of a mother's heart, but I sounds beautiful doesn't it Hisashi?"

Hisashi nodded his head, offering Izuku a thumbs up.

"Yeah champ, think about it for a second, you guys finally meet each other again, after two positive encounters together correct?"

Izuku nodded his head.

"You and this Setsuna seemed to have a connection since you were able to recognize each other, was she blushing by any chance Izuku?" Inko continued.

"Yeah, now that you mention it she was smiling a bit as we looked at each other, it is just when I called her beautiful out loud she hid her face behind her bag."

"Well explain to us then son, when she hid her face what were her mannerisms as she, quote on quote hid from you?" Hisashi furthered.

Izuku grew a thoughtful look on his face, "Well it looked like she was shaking, like one of nervousness, she also seemed to be blushing from under the bag since it didn't fully cover her face; but I figured that was because of the attention everyone else in the school was giving us…."

"Oh Izuku you stupid boy, you're a guy after all." Inko joked, now standing up and pulling her son into a small one armed hug. "You men just don't get the way a woman's heart works, but I can assure you son, there is nothing you have to fear."

Izuku looked to his mother, returning the one armed hug.

"Tomorrow I expect you to talk to her understood? What does your aunt Nemuri always say? 'Never keep a pretty lady waiting?'"

Izuku laughed gently at his mother's use of his aunt's words, he then felt his father join in on the hug.

"Now I may be just as clueless as you Izuku, I can tell you with experience as a fellow man, it doesn't get any easier let me tell yeah." He joked out joyously.

The family unit laughed out loud at what he said, Izuku pulled them closer into a hug, enjoying the comforting warmth they always provided.

"Thanks guys I really appreciate it, I feel a lot better now." Izuku did feel better, though he was extremely nervous about talking to a Tokage tomorrow, he actually looked forward to whatever would come from it, good or bad.

* * *

It was around noon when Katsuki had come by to deliver Izuku's stuff, threatening that if he pulled that shit again tomorrow he would, 'flail him alive'.

Izuku of course apologized to his dear friend, thanking him for actually taking the time to do such a thing for him. All Katsuki did was grumble about, and tell him he better go to school tomorrow. The two friends fist bumped as they wished each other a goodnight, it was about dinner time anyways so Izuku was getting pretty hungry.

When Katsuki departed? Izuku sat on the couch next to his family, waiting for the takeout they ordered to arrive. It was such a calm sight to see, a loving family of three casually flipping through the channels till one thing or another caught their attention.

Hisashi suddenly remembered something his co-worker had asked of him, he looked to Izuku calling out to him.

"Hey son, do you remember David Tsunotori?"

"Of course I do dad, he does come around like once a month to say hi." Izuku answered with.

Hisashi smiled, "Well you know how he is from America right? And his Japanese was a little bit poor when he got here?"

Izuku offered him a nod, the man did sound pretty funny when he talked at first, and even now it was lacking in some parts.

"Well he has a daughter in class 1-B, she transferred over from America. Her name is Pony Tsunotori, very cute girl, very blonde too, and she's a foreigner, I think you'd like her!" He said wiggling his eyebrows.

Izuku blushed at his father's comment but said nothing for now.

"Anyways! I was wondering if you could maybe befriend her? I know it's a lot to ask for son but she is new to Japan, and I think David would appreciate it if she made some friends. Especially with how you're pretty fluent in English you can help her adjust better?" Hisashi hoped out. He loved his dear friend David, and when David had asked him for such a thing of his son, Hisashi knew for a fact Izuku would be fine with it, but he did hold some doubt about it all.

"Of course dad! I know how much Mr. Tsunotori helped you, so of course I'll help his daughter. Plus more friends never hurt anyone right?" Izuku was smiling, he really appreciated how much Mr. Tsunotori had helped his father during his time in America.

"Thanks son! Like I said she's cute, your age, and definitely single if you want to test the waters, eh?"

"Hisashi stop tormenting your son, don't you remember he has his eyes on Setsuna in that class other class?" Inko scolded.

"Well the more the merrier right honey?! Just means more grandkids for us!" Hisashi dared to joke out.

"You and I are going to have a _talk_ later tonight mister." Inko said to her husband, pulling on the back of his hair roughly.

It sent a shiver down Hisashi's spine as he gulped, he knew he was going to 'regret' this choice later.

Izuku was completely clueless about any of the innuendos in place, and just laughed at his father's fate. Izuku did look forward to school tomorrow, he was going to be properly introduced to all his teachers, his aunt being one of them, and of course make a new friend. Of course when he thought of Tokage, he wondered what exactly would play out when that came to fruition? Why did his heart still beat so fast when he thought of her?

* * *

_The Next Day_

Izuku awoke pretty energetic and happy today. Even though just yesterday was the start of school, today would actually be the real deal. He would be going to every class that was scheduled for them, and he was looking forward to a certain aunt's class. However, he had a feeling she was going to constantly embarrass him to no end. It did not bother him per say, he did love everything she ever did for him.

Izuku met up with Katsuki, and the two were on their way to the train station. They easily boarded and much to Izuku's surprise, there were three members of his class sitting together off to the side. It was the pink skinned one, one with crazy red hair, and a girl who had the mannerisms of a frog? **"Interesting…"** Izuku thought to himself. Though the girl with the frog based quirk was staring directly at him, no shame in hiding it. During the testing yesterday, she had hopped and soared about like a frog, it was impressive to see.

Under her gaze Izuku did not feel pressured or bothered particularly, just a little weirded out by the way her eyes were so big. He offered her a friendly smile and a wave, to which she offered one of her own. The ride just kind of played out like that Izuku would look to the three now and then while checking on his phone, the three of them whispering about the two who were in their class. Katsuki as always did not give a shit, just staring at his phone the whole trip, offering small conversation to his friend now and then.

The train stopped, and the five departed from the bus, but the other three joined Izuku and Katsuki side by side on their walk.

"Can I help you extras?" Katsuki growled out.

None of them seemed to be bothered by his comment as they continued along with them.

"Sorry guys, don't mind him." Izuku clarified.

The other three really did pay it no mind as they laughed to one another, smile to the odd combo.

"It appears we haven't been introduced though, I'm Izuku Midoriya, and this is Katsuki Bakugo since I know for a fact he won't acknowledge you." Which earned him a deep growl from his friend.

The pink girl spoke next, "Heya! I'm Mina Ashido!" She happily exclaimed.

The other two followed along with the introductions.

"The names Eijiro Kirishima, and I'm everything manly!" He oddly called out.

"Tsuyu Asui. But please call me Tsuyu." She said rather croakily, not caring for manners what's so ever it seemed.

Izuku offered the three a small bow and a smile, while Katsuki continued as if they never had addressed them in the first place.

"Well it's nice to meet you three, Ashido, Kirishima, and Asui."

"Call me Tsuyu." Asui clarified.

The other two seemed to laugh at this while Izuku sweat dropped at her casual response.

"Honestly dude you're better off just calling her by her first name, she won't drop it unless you do." Ashido explained.

Izuku nodded his head slowly at the odd bunch, but they all carried on their walk like they normally would have.

"Hey Katuski, Izuku! Wait up!"

Everyone turned around to see Itsuka, but to the other three a rather buff looking girl with orange hair was running towards them.

"Oh Itsuka, I was wondering where you were." Izuku let out.

She simply followed them in their stride, creating an interesting group of six students making their way to school.

"Don't you go asking me that, why'd you take off yesterday huh?" She accused, poking his chest with her finger.

He winced at the toughness of her touch, but rubbed his head in embarrassment.

"Ehh sorry Itsuka, I had a lot of conflicting emotions, but I think I should be fine today!" He confidently said.

Itsuka only squinted her eyes harder at the boy, before giving a sigh.

"I swear Izuku, this girlfriend of yours is still an enigma to us." She said while pointing to Katsuki and herself.

Izuku blushed at her off hand comment, he would be lying if he said he did not like the ring to that.

"Oh but where are my manners! I'm Itsuka Kendo you three, and you are?"

"I'm Mina Ashido, this is Eijiro Kirishima and Tsuyu Asui, nice to meet you!" She said while pointing out to the other two.

"Call me Tsuyu."

Itsuka offered them a smile, shaking each of their hands as the school neared their sights.

"Anyways Izuku! Who is that girl? Is that the one you would talk about when we were twelve?"

This caught the attention of the other four, namely Katsuki as he was actually curious about it.

"Umm, yes that's her, she's the one I gave that rose too…" He felt uncomfortable with the attention now shifted to only him.

Ashido seemed to get giddy about the notion, while Itsuka grew a thoughtful look.

"Well that makes sense on why you would run, but that's rather rude, you know, poor girl was heartbroken you did that." Tokage was not heartbroken, not in the slightest if anything she was relieved for the moment; but Izuku did not need to know that.

"Oh…." Izuku sadly let out.

"Whatever dude you'll just talk to her today, of course." It sounded like their was no room for argument.

Izuku just sighed as he prepared himself for the day as they walked into the gates of U.A, this was already a lot to take in.

* * *

Home room for class 1-A was simple, the students stood in front of the class and introduced themselves to one another. They were allowed to tell one thing about themselves, that a bit took advantage of. Particularly a little pervert who had a few choice words to say, much to the discomfort of the girls.

Aizawa dismissed them for now, as they had five minutes to make it to, which coincidentally was Modern Hero Art History, taught by his endearing aunt. He gulped as he walked along with Katuski, a small group forming along with them as they walked along. Which consisted of Uraraka, Lida, Ashido, Kirishima, and Asui. It was the start of an awkward gathering of a friend group.

Setsuna in the sister class down the hall was walking along with Itsuka, and the foreigner they had gotten acquainted with at the orientation. Pony Tsunotori had just transferred from America, to finish up her last three years of study here at U.A. They all hit it off, even if Pony was lacking in some of her Japanese department, the other two laughed along with her at her somewhat poor grammar.

As they walked, Setsuna saw her good friend Toru trailing right next to a girl, one who was very tall, attractive, and seemed to have been graced by the voluptuous gods themselves. She rushed to her friend to hopefully say hi to her as they moved on to their next class.

"Toru! What class are you headed to?" Setsuna happily exclaimed. It did feel weird they no longer walked to class anymore since their getting into U.A, only the walk to home room allowed for them to reminisce about the old days.

"Una! I'm off to Modern Hero Arts with Yaomomo here!" Which made the girl next to her blush.

"Must you call me that nickname Hagakure?" Though in actuality she did not mind it one bit.

"I'm Momo Yaoyorozu, it's a pleasure to meet you three."

She was referring to the other two that were standing behind Setsuna as well, who were looking at the interaction.

"Nice to meet you! These are my friends Itsuka Kendo, and Pony Tsunotori!"

Itsuka offered a smile and a wave, "Hey there Yaoyorozu nice to meet."

"Hi! I Pony Tsunotori! Nice to meet you!" The foreigner let out.

The other two looked to her in confusion at the odd sounding Japanese and accent, while Itsuka and Setsuna did not even bat an eye at this.

"Oh she's a foreigner from America, isn't she just the purest thing?" Setsuna cooed out.

Pony just smiled at the praise.

"Anyways we're off to English." Setsuna shuttered.

Pony cheered in delight, while Itsuka felt a bit nervous about it, it reminded her how when Izuku would get upset about something she did, and he would only talk to her in English for days. It was infuriating.

"Well Una I'll see you at lunch! By the way that boy Midoriya? You are talking to him today. I don't care what you think." She teased out while walking away with Yaoyorozu.

"It was nice meeting you all." Yaoyorozu called to them as they left.

Setsuna was blushing slightly as she thought back to Izuku, she was looking forward to, and not looking forward to whenever that would happen later today.

"What was she talking about Sets- Umm mean Tokage?" Pony said, forgetting once again that here in Japan you referred to someone by their last name.

"Oh, a good friend of mine Tsunotori knows Tokage here from long ago, and later today they are going to talk to one another. By force if necessary." Itsuka lovingly let out.

"Oh...that not nice." Tsunotori expressed.

Itsuka shrugged as Setsuna let out a sigh, "No Tsunotori it's fine, there's a lot of questions I have for Midoriya anyways…" The three continued on to class, Setsuna feeling even more nervous as lunch neared.

* * *

Midnight had been waiting for this class all day! It was barely ten in the morning, but she was going to see her most favorite of nephews! Well only one since she was an only child, and technically Izuku was not actually her nephew but who cares?

As the class of 1-A slowly filed in, she saw her little Zu walking along with his childhood friend Katsuki, but tagging along were a few other students, who seemed to be laughing along with each other. She swelled with pride, Izuku was already making new friends, and this made her very happy.

Once everyone took their seats she introduced herself.

"Hello everyone~! My name is Nemuri Kayama, but you will refer to me as Kayama-Sensei, that means you to Zu!" She cooed at the end.

Causing many to look about in confusion at who she was referring too. Izuku on the other hand felt mortified as he laid his head flat against his desk.

"Auntie could you not?" A sudden voice said.

It came from Izuku, who at the moment was still face down on his desk.

"Now Zu~! What did I just say? Do I need to let your mother know how disobedient you're being? Or should I _punish_ you myself?" Oh she was having a blast with this, and she was going to milk it for as long as she could.

Izuku groaned once more as he blushed into his desk, not daring to look his aunt in the face.

The students looked at the interaction in strange curiosity, did these two know each other?

"Anyways class! I am the Modern Hero Arts History teacher, it is nice to meet all of you. I am the pro-hero/R-18 hero Midnight!"

Others looked in awe at the teacher before them, a few others with some unsavory looks that did not bother Midnight whatsoever. She craved the attention, even if it became too much at times.

"Umm Kayama-Sensei? You know Midoriya?" Uraraka questioned aloud.

Midnight smiled as she walked up to where Izuku sat, picking him up into a strong hug. Which mortified Izuku even more, while the others looked on in shock, minus Katsuki of course.

"Why this lovable cinnamon roll here is my nephew of course! Aren't you Zu-Zu~?"

Izuku just held his head in embarrassment, wishing he would just fall into a void.

Finally Izuku spoke, "Yes everyone, Kayama-Sensei is my aunt. Happy?" He grumbled out to his aunt.

Midnight set him back down and smiled mischievously, "Only for but a moment Zu, Anyways everyone let's get started with today shall we?"

Izuku sat himself back down as he felt the rest of the class staring at him, and since he sat near the front he could not tell who was exactly looking at him. He just shrunk himself as small as possible for now as Midnight started with her lesson.

* * *

Lunch had come around, and Izuku was walking with Katsuki to get some grub. Lunch-Rush would be the one supplying the mess hall with food, something that Izuku was looking forward to. He heard many great things from the hero chef, and judging by the happy murmurs of the cafeteria atmosphere, he was right to assume so.

He got what he had always gotten, Katsudon, while Katuski got the spiciest curry he could get his hands on. Something his explosive attitude just seemed to make all the more sense. The two sat at an empty table for now, namely they were waiting for Itsuka to come by, but to their surprise she came along with three other people, namely Setsuna who seemed to have been dragged along with reluctance.

Izuku immediately blushed, looking away to the side, while Setsuna followed suit. Toru, Itsuka, and Pony just looked at the small interaction, namely Toru and Pony giggling in excitement.

"Well hello there boys, mind if we take a seat?" Itsuka said while already sitting down.

Before Setsuna could sit down next to Pony, she was grabbed by her invisible friend, who forcefully placed her right next to Izuku. Setsuna started sweating slightly as the boy next to her was sweating profusely. Neither of them had acknowledged the other for now.

Soon a few other guests had joined them at their relatively large table; it consisted of Ashido, Asui, Kirishima, Uraraka, Lida, and at the request of Toru, Yaoyorozu also joined in. It was a cheery bunch that were deep in conversation, asking each other things one would normally would when being introduced to one another.

However, they knew the tension that was between Izuku and Setsuna, as the two just fumbled about with their food next to each other. Only Katsuki, Itsuka, Toru, and Pony knew what was really going on, while the others were left clueless.

Izuku somehow gained the courage to finally look over to the girl sitting next to him, he creepily noticed she smelled nice…**"Yeah because that"s not fucking weird at all Izuku.."** He mentally chastised himself for.

"H-Hey uh Tokage?" Izuku finally nervously let out.

"Y-YES?!" She shouted out, wincing at how loud she said that.

Izuku was taken aback by her volume slightly, "Umm I'm pretty sure you're u-upset I called you b-beautiful yesterday...my b-bad.."

Setsuna felt her heart pang slightly at that, **"He doesn't think I'm beautiful?"** The thought had hurt her a bit.

Izuku noticed her sudden change of demeanor, thinking made she had gotten ill all of a sudden.

"Hey Tokage are you alright?" He reached a delicate gloved hand over to her, placing it on her forehead. "You look a little warm n-"

The sudden contact caused her to yelp in surprise, getting the attention of everyone at the table. Izuku pulled back his hand in alarm, forgetting in his spur of the moment to check if she was okay, that maybe what he did was to much.

"Oh s-s-sorry you looked ill…" Izuku shyly let out. "I'll just g-go." He made way to stand, but surprisingly she grabbed his hand, stopping his sudden departure.

"D-Don't g-go…" She meekly let out. She did not know what possessed her to stop him in the first place. Her heart was racing as she knew they were now the center of attention at their table.

Acting quickly, Toru started a new conversation that thankfully got everyone else's attention. Though a few still kept their glances over to the green haired students.

Izuku sat back down, looking towards Setsuna with slight worry. She was nervously poking her fingers together as she gave him some side glances.

"_I didn't mind that you called me beautiful…"_ She whispered out.

"Umm w-what was that Tokage?" He genuinely did not hear what she said.

Setsuna took a deep breath, speaking at a small volume this time.

"I s-said I didn't m-mind you c-calling me b-b-beautiful…" She closed her eyes in fright, she didn't know why she was exactly scared, maybe he didn't think she was as pretty after all?

Izuku looked to her in surprise, gulping as he looked back to his food, he felt a small smile forming on his face.

"Eh-eh umm." He paused to clear his throat. "W-Well if that's the c-case you look g-gorgeous t-t-today." Smooth.

Izuku paled as his mouth spoke faster than what his mind only wanted to keep to itself. He heard slight coos from Ashido and Toru, as they looked to the blushing duo.

Setsuna felt her face go on fire as she tried her best to childishly hide her face behind her hands. Once again she was smiling like an idiot at his brash compliment.

"T-Thanks.." She mumbled from behind her hands, her smile never leaving.

Izuku nervously smiled himself, though he was berating himself for acting so brash in the moment, but she did not seem to mind.

"Hey uh, I just noticed we got the same thing for today." Izuku said while pointing to their exact copies of lunches.

Setsuna felt her shyness dissipate for now as she removed her hands to see they had in fact ordered the same thing.

"Oh yeah, do you like Katsudon to?"

Izuku grew a huge smile at this, one that made her stomach feel weird. **"Toru called this butterflies in your stomach I think...I like it.."**

"You kidding! I love Katsudon! I can eat it whenever and wherever!" He happily exclaimed.

Setsuna relished in the feeling a little longer as she agreed with the boy.

"Me Too! It's such an underrated dish that needs the appreciation it deserves!"

"Right?!" Izuku agreed with as well.

The two mellowed out at this, laughing at the silliness of each other.

"I like your laugh, its cute." Setsuna thought to herself.

Izuku blushed at her compliment and gave awkward chuckled at this.

"O-Ohh thanks…Your laugh is cuteer." He smiled at her, blushing hotly.

Setsuna held her hands to her cheeks as she tried to will the warmth from leaving her face, she felt silly having said that out loud, but was glad she did all the same.

"T-Thanks Midoriya, you're s-sweet." She liked the way his last name rolled off her tongue.

Izuku stuttered at the use of his surname, "Of c-course Tokage."

It was like watching the two biggest nerds on the planet trying to flirt with one another. It was awkward and adorable all at the same time. Too Toru, Itsuka, Mina, And Pony, the display was the cutest damn thing they had ever seen. Uraraka just seemed confused by it, Lida was curious, Yaoyorozu was intrigued, while Katuski still did not care.

Setsuna and Izuku sat in silence the rest of lunch, eating and listening in on the conversations their various friends were talking about.

The two kept looking at each other though, smiling to one another in their respective ways. Izuku with his steady and shy smile; while Setsuna smiled with a toothy sharp smile of her own, but it had a hint of shyness in it. The two were seriously lost in each other's smiles and eyes, Izuku in her dark green orbs, Setsuna was lost in his bright emerald green orbs, in that moment she saw the color return to them. She liked that.

As lunch ended the two walked along with their friends, standing side by side one another. They were going to have to go separate ways right now, and the thought made both of them feel a sense of longing, though they would not admit to it yet.

As their said their respective goodbyes to one another, Izuku and Setsuna stood in front of each other, awkwardly shuffling about as they stared at one another.

"S-See you soon?" Izuku said hopefully.

Setsuna blushed but nodded her head yes. She cutely put her hands behind her back, swaying slightly on her heels.

"Y-Yeah I'd like that.."

Fate was good today.

* * *

_Pls I'm already eight thousand words into the other chapter, send help. As always have a wonderful, day, afternoon, or night. _


	8. Chapter 16

First, my apologies, this is not a chapter update...

Second, I know this is going to upset some of you, but I understand! This is mainly for me and what I believe my readers deserve. They deserve a experience, not what this has become.

Now then,

Hello Everyone! This story is now (has) been undergoing a rewrite that essentially gets rid of many of the plot holes I've ignored or otherwise forgotten about. I have not forgotten this piece of work, it is my pride and joy after all. I just do not like what I have done. This was (Is) my first try at a fanfic, and it really overwhelmed me with how much world building and AU elements I would introduce. Ive gotten lost in the sauce as they say.

I will be deleting chapters 8-15 by Monday (as well as this one) and I will be working (already am) on taking this story on a 'different route'.

I will fully explain the whole All Might and Izuku thing as I have not said anything about it. Midnights character will be better used, and some elements I incorporated will be removed entirely (SHES STILL HIS AUNT AND LOVES HIM THOUGH). There will be a title change. The training arc will be better and not so damned rushed and just overall unfulfilling. There will just be a complete overhaul, BUT some of it will be mostly the same. Im fixing irritating things I know ticked many of you off that I carelessly threw in.

To those that may not know, during the time I was writing my other story Draconic Upbringing, while still working on this one. I reached an all time low in my life. this heavily affected my mindset, and even before then I was just going down a dark path. Didn't help that this whole pandemic and my life just got overhauled. This mainly effected my Job, college life, want to write, and my family.

I'm in a better place now, and mentally ready to finally do the work I love to do. Fanfiction brings me joy, it is very cathartic for me.

I hope everyone has stayed safe and healthy during these times. I especially hope your families, friends, coworkers etc. have been safe. Always remember how important you are, take care of yourselves.

* * *

**ALSO PLEASE CHECK THESE TWO PEEPS OUT! **

**They don't know Im doing this, so hopefully they don't mind.**

**These two have heavily inspired me with their glorious stories. They are just genuinely nice people as well. Please read their stuff if you havent! (Though I know many of you know who they are)**

**-AkeenCarter **

**-Lilbloo20**

**Those are their names on Fanfiction so if you have time to get lost in some good fanfics, those are your authors right there!**


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